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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: last · season · foot · land · bore · bass · spell · fan

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. spell — letters
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. last — finally
  5. last — final
  6. land — ground
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. season — in sport
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. spell — magic
  13. bass — the fish
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. land — to come down
  16. season — of the year
  17. last — to go on
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. bass — low music
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bore — to drill
  22. bore — to tire
  23. foot — a measure
  24. fan — a supporter

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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