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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. land — a country
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. suit — in cards
  5. suit — clothes
  6. bark — to shout
  7. last — finally
  8. land — ground
  9. bank — of a river
  10. suit — to fit
  11. cold — not warm
  12. land — to come down
  13. bank — for money
  14. spell — letters
  15. cold — an illness
  16. last — to go on
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. spell — a short time
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. last — final
  22. saw — the tool
  23. bank — for money
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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