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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. spell — letters
  3. land — ground
  4. land — to come down
  5. foot — a measure
  6. last — finally
  7. land — a country
  8. rash — a series
  9. spell — magic
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. spell — a short time
  12. club — for golf
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. club — for dancing
  15. last — final
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. mine — for digging
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. last — to go on
  21. chip — for betting
  22. chip — to eat
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. club — a 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