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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 120 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wake — a trail
  5. chest — of your body
  6. spell — magic
  7. key — the most important part
  8. spell — letters
  9. chest — a box
  10. present — a gift
  11. land — ground
  12. land — a country
  13. present — there
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. key — in music
  16. spell — a short time
  17. key — for a lock
  18. present — the time now

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