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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: spell · firm · cold · branch · land · pitch · mark · wake

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — a short time
  4. cold — not warm
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. branch — a division
  7. wake — a trail
  8. firm — steady
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. pitch — completely
  12. mark — a grade
  13. land — ground
  14. firm — a company
  15. cold — an illness
  16. land — a country
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. spell — letters
  22. firm — decided
  23. land — to come down
  24. mark — a trace

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