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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 124 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: cold · content · suit · arm · leaves · spell · saw · row

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. cold — not warm
  3. content — the amount
  4. saw — the tool
  5. content — happy
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. spell — letters
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. suit — to fit
  10. suit — in cards
  11. saw — the tool
  12. suit — clothes
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. spell — magic
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. row — a line
  19. spell — a short time
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. row — to paddle
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — the Cold War

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