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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. land — ground
  3. land — a country
  4. present — the time now
  5. pop — soda
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. spell — a short time
  10. pop — to visit
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. present — a gift
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. spell — magic
  17. bat — the animal
  18. pop — music
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. land — to come down
  22. bulb — for light
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. present — there

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