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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: bay · spell · hand · land · dip · bowl · season · cold

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. spell — magic
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. dip — to sink
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. spell — a short time
  11. season — of the year
  12. season — in sport
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. spell — letters
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. land — a country
  20. hand — in cards
  21. land — to come down
  22. cold — an illness
  23. hand — help
  24. season — to add flavour

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