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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. rest — what's left
  3. spell — letters
  4. rest — what's left
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. spell — a short time
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. spell — magic
  9. mine — for digging
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. pound — a weight
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. land — a country
  14. plane — a tool
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. land — to come down
  20. scale — in music
  21. rest — a break
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. scale — size or range

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