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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.

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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: rock · march · kid · content · spell · fork · hide · present

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. march — the month
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. present — there
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. spell — a short time
  8. present — the time now
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. content — the amount
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. present — a gift
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. spell — magic
  15. march — music
  16. rock — a stone
  17. fork — in a road
  18. spell — letters
  19. march — the month
  20. kid — to tease
  21. kid — child
  22. rock — music
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. rock — to move gently

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