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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — a coil
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. spell — a short time
  7. land — ground
  8. bass — low music
  9. fork — in a road
  10. spring — of water
  11. spell — magic
  12. row — a line
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. lie — to recline
  15. chip — to eat
  16. land — a country
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. chip — for betting
  21. bass — the fish
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. spell — letters

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