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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
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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: content · bark · craft · spell · jam · cold · track · season

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. season — of the year
  5. season — in sport
  6. craft — a skill
  7. cold — an illness
  8. spell — letters
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. bark — to shout
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. craft — boats
  14. track — a path
  15. track — to keep track
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. spell — a short time
  19. cold — not warm
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. track — a song
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. content — happy
  24. content — the amount

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