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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. land — to come down
  3. hand — in cards
  4. ground — the earth
  5. band — a ring
  6. spell — magic
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. plane — a tool
  9. hand — help
  10. land — a country
  11. ground — a position
  12. spell — letters
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. ground — crushed
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. land — ground
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. wind — moving air
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. band — a music 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