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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. spell — letters
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — a country
  6. cell — a phone
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. dip — to sink
  10. kid — to tease
  11. foot — a measure
  12. land — ground
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. cell — in biology
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. spell — magic
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. spell — a short time
  24. rush — hurry

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