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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. kick — in football
  3. land — to come down
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. date — the fruit
  6. land — a country
  7. clip — to cut
  8. land — ground
  9. spell — a short time
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. chest — a box
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. spell — letters
  15. clip — for paper
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. mate — a friend
  18. mate — to breed
  19. mate — a partner
  20. chest — of your body
  21. sharp — clever
  22. clip — a video
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. chest — of your body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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