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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. spring — a coil
  3. wind — moving air
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. land — ground
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. land — to come down
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. race — the arms race
  11. spring — of water
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. deal — to handle
  16. race — humankind
  17. land — a country
  18. spring — the season
  19. spell — letters
  20. spell — magic
  21. race — a contest
  22. wind — moving air
  23. kick — in football
  24. racket — for tennis

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