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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 sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. date — the fruit
  3. wind — moving air
  4. spell — a short time
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. court — of law
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. spell — letters
  11. roll — a list
  12. land — to come down
  13. land — a country
  14. court — for sport
  15. court — of a king
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. roll — a cake
  18. wind — moving air
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. land — ground
  22. dip — to sink
  23. spell — magic
  24. dip — to dunk

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