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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: club · cell · tear · march · content · spell · toast · ruler

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — a short time
  4. march — the month
  5. content — happy
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. march — music
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. spell — letters
  12. club — for golf
  13. tear — from crying
  14. club — a group
  15. cell — a phone
  16. toast — bread
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. march — the month
  20. club — for dancing
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. cell — in biology
  23. tear — to rip
  24. tear — from crying

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