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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: kid · root · spell · bowl · mine · stand · content · deal

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — letters
  4. content — the amount
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. mine — for digging
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. deal — to handle
  12. root — of a word
  13. root — the cause
  14. spell — a short time
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. content — happy
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. root — of a plant
  20. kid — to tease
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. kid — child
  24. stand — to bear

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