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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. land — ground
  3. last — finally
  4. land — a country
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. land — to come down
  7. spell — a short time
  8. last — final
  9. wound — an injury
  10. track — to keep track
  11. mate — a friend
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. mate — to breed
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. charge — in control
  17. spell — letters
  18. charge — a price
  19. charge — electricity
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. mate — a partner
  22. spell — magic
  23. track — a path
  24. last — to go on

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