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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. spell — a short time
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. file — a line of people
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. land — ground
  8. squash — the sport
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. spell — magic
  11. file — a document
  12. land — a country
  13. file — a tool
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. mark — a trace
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. spell — letters
  18. squash — to crush
  19. mark — a grade
  20. dip — to sink
  21. branch — a division
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. land — to come down

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