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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. net — after costs
  3. land — ground
  4. mate — a partner
  5. track — to keep track
  6. land — a country
  7. spell — letters
  8. face — to confront
  9. key — in music
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. net — for catching
  12. face — part of the head
  13. net — in sport
  14. track — a path
  15. spell — a short time
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. mate — a friend
  18. sharp — clever
  19. mate — to breed
  20. face — to point toward
  21. track — a song
  22. land — to come down
  23. key — for a lock
  24. key — the most important part

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