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

Word bank: kid · rule · land · wave · pound · lash · drill · spell

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. land — a country
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. drill — army training
  8. kid — child
  9. spell — a short time
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. land — ground
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. land — to come down
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — a practice
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. kid — to tease
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. rule — government
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. rule — a law
  23. pound — a weight
  24. spell — magic

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