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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: ball · suit · chip · last · pound · perch · content · spell

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. last — final
  3. content — happy
  4. content — the amount
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. spell — letters
  7. last — finally
  8. spell — a short time
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. ball — a great time
  11. suit — to fit
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. suit — clothes
  14. suit — in cards
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. last — to go on
  17. ball — a dance
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. pound — a weight
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chip — for betting
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. perch — the fish

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