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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. cell — in biology
  3. spell — magic
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. rock — a stone
  6. spell — letters
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. land — to come down
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. land — a country
  13. bank — for money
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. season — of the year
  17. bank — of a river
  18. season — in sport
  19. cell — a phone
  20. bank — for money
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hand — help
  23. spell — a short time
  24. land — ground

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