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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. staff — employees
  3. spell — magic
  4. mug — a cup
  5. land — to come down
  6. staff — employees
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. shower — to wash
  9. spell — a short time
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. land — ground
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. kid — to tease
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. staff — a stick
  17. date — the fruit
  18. shower — rain
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. spell — letters
  21. mug — to rob
  22. kid — child
  23. mug — a face
  24. date — on the calendar

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