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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: spring · wake · safe · spell · clip · rule · land · dip

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  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. safe — out of danger
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. land — a country
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. clip — for paper
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. spring — of water
  8. rule — a law
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. land — to come down
  11. spring — a coil
  12. wake — a trail
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. spring — the season
  16. dip — to sink
  17. spell — letters
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — to cut
  21. land — ground
  22. rule — government
  23. spell — magic
  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