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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. spell — magic
  4. spell — a short time
  5. pit — a hole
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. land — to come down
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. bound — tied together
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bound — certain
  12. last — finally
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. bound — obliged
  15. last — to go on
  16. pit — in a race
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. last — final
  19. face — to confront
  20. face — part of the head
  21. face — to point toward
  22. land — ground
  23. land — a country
  24. wind — moving air

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