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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. object — to protest
  3. object — an aim
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. chest — of your body
  7. spell — magic
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. spell — a short time
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. bore — to drill
  12. object — a thing
  13. chest — a box
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. date — the fruit
  16. land — ground
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. bore — to tire
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. land — a country
  21. land — to come down
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. sharp — clever
  24. chest — of your body

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