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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. spell — magic
  3. capital — a city
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. land — ground
  6. spell — letters
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. bat — the animal
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. roll — a cake
  14. land — to come down
  15. roll — a list
  16. capital — money
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. foot — a measure
  19. land — a country
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. spell — a short time
  22. staff — a stick
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. staff — employees

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