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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. spell — magic
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. last — final
  7. spell — letters
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. branch — a division
  10. band — a music group
  11. game — wild animals
  12. last — finally
  13. game — a match
  14. pitch — completely
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. band — a ring
  17. land — to come down
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. land — a country
  21. deal — to handle
  22. last — to go on
  23. land — ground
  24. game — a kind of play

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