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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. spell — magic
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. spell — letters
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. land — a country
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. land — ground
  16. mine — for digging
  17. kid — child
  18. land — to come down
  19. spell — a short time
  20. kid — to tease
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. mine — an explosive

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