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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. land — a country
  3. last — to go on
  4. spell — letters
  5. land — ground
  6. file — a line of people
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bank — of a river
  9. bulb — for light
  10. land — to come down
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. file — a tool
  13. bank — for money
  14. last — final
  15. bank — for money
  16. spell — a short time
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. file — a document
  19. tear — from crying
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. last — finally
  22. tear — to rip
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. bulb — for light

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