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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. land — ground
  3. spell — magic
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. spell — letters
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — in football
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. scale — size or range
  11. mine — for digging
  12. perch — the fish
  13. land — a country
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. scale — in music
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. rest — what's left
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. land — to come down
  21. rest — a break
  22. rest — what's left
  23. spell — a short time
  24. scale — for weighing

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