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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · perch · spell · bear · march · pitcher · lie · mate

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. bear — the animal
  3. land — to come down
  4. spell — magic
  5. spell — letters
  6. march — the month
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. mate — a friend
  9. lie — to recline
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. march — the month
  12. mate — to breed
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. mate — a partner
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. spell — a short time
  20. perch — the fish
  21. bear — the animal
  22. march — music
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. land — a country

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