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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 116 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. land — ground
  3. spell — a short time
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — a country
  6. ground — the earth
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. ground — a position
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. object — an aim
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. object — to protest
  15. wake — a trail
  16. object — a thing
  17. spell — magic
  18. ground — crushed

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