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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. land — to come down
  4. key — the most important part
  5. court — for sport
  6. court — of law
  7. mate — a partner
  8. land — a country
  9. key — in music
  10. spell — letters
  11. club — for golf
  12. club — a group
  13. key — for a lock
  14. court — of a king
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. club — for dancing
  18. mate — to breed
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. spell — a short time
  21. cell — a phone
  22. mate — a friend
  23. cell — in biology
  24. land — ground

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