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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. spell — magic
  3. foot — a measure
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. present — there
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. land — ground
  8. track — to keep track
  9. track — a path
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. land — a country
  12. present — the time now
  13. toast — bread
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. game — wild animals
  16. track — a song
  17. spell — a short time
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. land — to come down
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — for digging
  23. spell — letters
  24. present — a gift

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