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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. firm — decided
  3. firm — a company
  4. spell — magic
  5. face — to confront
  6. spell — a short time
  7. land — a country
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. face — to point toward
  10. file — a document
  11. band — a ring
  12. firm — steady
  13. file — a line of people
  14. land — ground
  15. branch — a division
  16. face — part of the head
  17. spell — letters
  18. file — a tool
  19. bore — to drill
  20. bore — to tire
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. band — a music group

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