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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. club — for dancing
  3. hand — help
  4. club — for golf
  5. land — ground
  6. land — a country
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. club — a group
  9. spell — letters
  10. saw — the tool
  11. spell — a short time
  12. tube — the underground
  13. spell — magic
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. tube — a container
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. hand — in cards
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. mark — a grade
  22. land — to come down
  23. mark — a trace
  24. saw — the tool

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