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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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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: ground · race · trunk · pop · content · fine · bear · spell

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. content — happy
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bear — the animal
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. spell — magic
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. pop — music
  10. fine — high quality
  11. content — the amount
  12. race — humankind
  13. fine — all right
  14. pop — to visit
  15. spell — letters
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — a contest
  18. ground — a position
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. ground — crushed
  22. ground — the earth
  23. spell — a short time
  24. pop — soda

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