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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. shower — rain
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. land — to come down
  5. shower — to wash
  6. deal — to handle
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. hand — help
  9. spell — a short time
  10. hand — in cards
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. land — ground
  13. spell — magic
  14. spell — letters
  15. land — a country
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. fine — all right
  18. hand — part of the body

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