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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: mine · land · wind · pound · mark · spell · pit · shower

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. land — a country
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. shower — to wash
  7. shower — rain
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. land — ground
  10. mark — a trace
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. pit — in a race
  13. mine — for digging
  14. spell — a short time
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. land — to come down
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. pound — a weight
  19. spell — magic
  20. spell — letters
  21. mark — a grade
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. mine — belonging to me

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