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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. current — of water
  4. foot — a measure
  5. march — music
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. ground — crushed
  8. land — ground
  9. ground — the earth
  10. land — a country
  11. current — happening now
  12. ball — a great time
  13. march — the month
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. spell — magic
  16. ball — a dance
  17. ground — a position
  18. kick — in football
  19. spell — a short time
  20. current — electric
  21. march — the month
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. land — to come down
  24. foot — the bottom

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