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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. land — ground
  3. land — a country
  4. root — of a plant
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. drill — a practice
  7. land — to come down
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. face — to point toward
  12. root — of a word
  13. drill — army training
  14. board — to get on
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. drill — the tool
  18. spell — a short time
  19. face — part of the head
  20. root — the cause
  21. spell — magic
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. face — to confront
  24. board — a committee

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