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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.

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: spell · land · kick · present · spring · file · suit · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kick — in football
  3. spell — letters
  4. land — to come down
  5. spring — the season
  6. present — a gift
  7. suit — in cards
  8. file — a document
  9. land — ground
  10. land — a country
  11. file — a line of people
  12. spring — a coil
  13. suit — clothes
  14. present — there
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. suit — to fit
  18. present — the time now
  19. spell — magic
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. file — a tool
  22. spring — of water
  23. kid — child
  24. spell — a short time

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