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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: lash · mate · spell · bulb · cold · pound · object · ground

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. object — an aim
  3. mate — a friend
  4. spell — letters
  5. pound — a weight
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. ground — crushed
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. cold — an illness
  12. mate — to breed
  13. ground — a position
  14. object — to protest
  15. object — a thing
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. ground — the earth
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — for light
  20. mate — a partner
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — not warm
  23. spell — a short time
  24. bulb — of a plant

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