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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: spell · bat · lean · toast · land · march · pop · sharp

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. land — a country
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. land — ground
  5. march — the month
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. pop — music
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. spell — letters
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. march — music
  13. spell — magic
  14. pop — soda
  15. march — the month
  16. land — to come down
  17. pop — to visit
  18. bat — the animal
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. lean — thin
  22. spell — a short time
  23. lean — to bend
  24. toast — bread

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