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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: clip · wind · content · game · spring · date · stand · spell

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. game — wild animals
  3. wind — moving air
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. content — the amount
  7. clip — for paper
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. spell — letters
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — a coil
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. clip — to cut
  17. date — the fruit
  18. clip — a video
  19. spring — the season
  20. spell — magic
  21. stand — to bear
  22. wind — moving air
  23. game — a match
  24. content — happy

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