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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 120 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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. land — to come down
  3. spell — magic
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. last — final
  6. last — to go on
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. land — ground
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. rest — what's left
  11. chip — for betting
  12. rest — what's left
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. row — to paddle
  15. last — finally
  16. land — a country
  17. chip — to eat
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. spell — letters
  21. spell — a short time
  22. rest — a break
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. chip — in a computer

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