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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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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 · hand · spell · bat · lean · fall · cabinet · press

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. hand — in cards
  3. fall — the season
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. spell — magic
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. spell — letters
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. press — a publisher
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. fall — to drop
  12. land — to come down
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. lean — to bend
  15. lean — thin
  16. press — newspapers
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. spell — a short time
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. press — to push
  21. land — ground
  22. fall — to drop
  23. hand — help
  24. bat — the animal

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