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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. rush — hurry
  3. land — to come down
  4. track — to keep track
  5. track — a path
  6. spell — magic
  7. land — ground
  8. fine — high quality
  9. branch — a division
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. track — a song
  12. pass — a permit
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. land — a country
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. spell — a short time
  20. fine — all right
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. cell — a phone
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. branch — of a bank

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