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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. spell — magic
  3. present — a gift
  4. present — the time now
  5. spell — letters
  6. land — ground
  7. branch — a division
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. file — a tool
  11. spell — a short time
  12. land — to come down
  13. rash — a series
  14. file — a document
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. present — there
  17. bore — to tire
  18. last — final
  19. rash — hasty
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. last — to go on
  22. file — a line of people
  23. land — a country
  24. bore — to drill

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