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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. pop — to visit
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. file — a tool
  5. staff — employees
  6. roll — a list
  7. staff — employees
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. spell — letters
  10. land — ground
  11. land — to come down
  12. face — part of the head
  13. roll — a cake
  14. file — a line of people
  15. pop — soda
  16. pop — music
  17. face — to confront
  18. face — to point toward
  19. ball — a dance
  20. land — a country
  21. file — a document
  22. ball — a great time
  23. spell — a short time
  24. staff — a stick

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