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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. spell — a short time
  3. ground — a position
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. spell — letters
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. land — ground
  9. spell — magic
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. ground — crushed
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — money
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. mine — for digging
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. land — to come down
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. lie — to recline
  22. ground — the earth
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. fork — in a road

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