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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: bay · degree · snap · file · content · fork · spell · perch

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. fork — in a road
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. degree — temperature
  7. snap — to click
  8. spell — magic
  9. file — a line of people
  10. perch — the fish
  11. spell — a short time
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. content — happy
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. degree — from a university
  16. content — the amount
  17. degree — an amount
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. file — a document
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. file — a tool
  24. content — videos and posts

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