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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 120 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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. land — to come down
  4. spell — magic
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. land — ground
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. track — a path
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a tool
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. track — to keep track
  18. track — a song
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. land — a country
  21. spell — a short time
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. file — a document
  24. kick — in football

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