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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: land · hide · cold · spell · pitcher · bear · last · key

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. key — in music
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. spell — magic
  5. cold — not warm
  6. last — final
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bear — the animal
  9. spell — a short time
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. last — finally
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. land — a country
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. last — to go on
  18. key — the most important part
  19. key — for a lock
  20. land — ground
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. spell — letters
  24. cold — an illness

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