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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spell — a short time
  3. kid — to tease
  4. land — a country
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. land — ground
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. spring — a coil
  9. lean — thin
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. kick — in football
  13. spell — letters
  14. land — to come down
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. lean — to bend
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — of water
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. kid — child
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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