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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: spell · season · nail · present · bay · content · row · root

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. season — in sport
  4. present — there
  5. content — the amount
  6. spell — magic
  7. present — a gift
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. content — happy
  10. season — of the year
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. root — the cause
  13. root — of a word
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. spell — letters
  16. root — of a plant
  17. present — the time now
  18. row — a line
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. spell — a short time
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. row — to paddle

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com