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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. spell — a short time
  3. track — a path
  4. land — a country
  5. spell — magic
  6. land — to come down
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. land — ground
  9. mate — to breed
  10. spell — letters
  11. band — a music group
  12. track — to keep track
  13. net — in sport
  14. mate — a friend
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. band — a ring
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. net — after costs
  21. net — for catching
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. track — a song

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