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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. cap — a hat
  5. spell — magic
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. snap — to click
  9. tear — to rip
  10. dip — to sink
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. cap — of ice
  13. tear — from crying
  14. land — ground
  15. march — the month
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cap — a lid
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. land — to come down
  22. spell — letters
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. spell — a short time

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