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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 120 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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. land — ground
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. bass — low music
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. spell — letters
  8. snap — to click
  9. land — to come down
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. race — humankind
  12. race — the arms race
  13. saw — the tool
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bear — the animal
  17. spell — magic
  18. saw — the tool
  19. land — a country
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. race — a contest
  24. dip — to sink

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