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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  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. mine — for digging
  2. fine — high quality
  3. fine — all right
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — the season
  6. land — ground
  7. spring — a coil
  8. net — after costs
  9. net — for catching
  10. toast — bread
  11. spell — magic
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. staff — employees
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. staff — a stick
  16. land — to come down
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. land — a country
  19. staff — employees
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. spell — letters
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. net — in sport
  24. spell — a short time

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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