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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 120 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. fine — all right
  3. mark — a grade
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. spell — a short time
  7. scale — in music
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. cell — a phone
  10. land — a country
  11. bound — certain
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. dip — to sink
  16. bound — tied together
  17. fine — high quality
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. bound — obliged
  20. land — to come down
  21. mark — a trace
  22. land — ground
  23. spell — magic
  24. scale — size or range

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