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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. land — a country
  6. rest — what's left
  7. kid — child
  8. staff — a stick
  9. staff — employees
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — ground
  13. rest — a break
  14. stock — goods
  15. spell — a short time
  16. kid — to tease
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. staff — employees
  19. rest — what's left
  20. march — music
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. spell — letters
  23. stock — shares
  24. temple — side of the head

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