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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. clip — to cut
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. land — ground
  7. spell — letters
  8. swing — in golf
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. bank — of a river
  11. clip — a video
  12. pound — a weight
  13. bank — for money
  14. land — to come down
  15. clip — for paper
  16. game — wild animals
  17. swing — to play on
  18. game — a match
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. swing — music
  22. land — a country
  23. spell — a short time
  24. bank — for money

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