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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. spell — magic
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. face — part of the head
  7. face — to point toward
  8. chip — for betting
  9. field — for sport
  10. cell — in biology
  11. land — a country
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. spell — letters
  14. field — farmland
  15. cell — a phone
  16. field — a subject
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. land — ground
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. chip — to eat
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. land — to come down
  23. face — to confront
  24. spell — a short time

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