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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. spell — letters
  3. cap — of ice
  4. face — to confront
  5. land — a country
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. spell — magic
  9. face — part of the head
  10. cap — a lid
  11. cell — in biology
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. branch — a division
  15. land — to come down
  16. face — to point toward
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. spell — a short time
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cap — a hat

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