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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — a country
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. cell — a phone
  5. season — of the year
  6. spell — letters
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. spell — magic
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. bore — to tire
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. season — in sport
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. cell — in biology
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bore — to drill
  22. land — to come down
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. calf — a young animal

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