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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: content · roll · wind · sharp · wake · spell · stem · cell

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cell — a phone
  6. spell — a short time
  7. spell — magic
  8. stem — to come from
  9. sharp — clever
  10. roll — a cake
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. content — happy
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. cell — in biology
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. wind — moving air
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. wake — a trail
  23. spell — letters
  24. roll — a list

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