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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 116 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. content — the amount
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. spell — a short time
  6. drill — army training
  7. land — a country
  8. land — ground
  9. spell — magic
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. drill — a practice
  13. root — the cause
  14. root — of a word
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. root — of a plant
  17. land — to come down
  18. content — happy
  19. rule — government
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. rule — a law
  22. drill — the tool
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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