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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 124 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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. spell — letters
  4. land — to come down
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. lie — to recline
  9. kid — child
  10. firm — a company
  11. firm — decided
  12. ground — a position
  13. bark — to shout
  14. spell — magic
  15. kid — to tease
  16. ground — crushed
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. snap — to click
  20. ground — the earth
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. land — ground
  23. firm — steady
  24. spell — a short time

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