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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. land — a country
  3. spell — magic
  4. land — ground
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. staff — employees
  7. wind — moving air
  8. shower — rain
  9. spell — letters
  10. staff — a stick
  11. staff — employees
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. spell — a short time
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — for paper
  18. wind — moving air
  19. land — to come down
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. clip — a video
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. shower — to wash

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