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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
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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: date · spell · saw · leaves · land · snap · rash · cold

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. rash — a series
  3. saw — the tool
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. rash — hasty
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. spell — magic
  8. land — ground
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. land — to come down
  11. spell — letters
  12. spell — a short time
  13. cold — not warm
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. cold — an illness
  16. land — a country
  17. date — the fruit
  18. saw — the tool
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. snap — to click
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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