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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. spell — magic
  3. rest — a break
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — after costs
  6. row — to paddle
  7. wound — an injury
  8. spell — letters
  9. land — to come down
  10. row — a line
  11. land — a country
  12. spell — a short time
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. net — in sport
  15. rest — what's left
  16. land — ground
  17. wound — an injury
  18. rest — what's left

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