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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 · deal · clip · mine · cabinet · wake · roll · land

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. spell — letters
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. land — ground
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. mine — for digging
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. land — to come down
  11. spell — magic
  12. clip — a video
  13. wake — a trail
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. clip — to cut
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. deal — to handle
  18. spell — a short time
  19. land — a country
  20. roll — a cake
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. clip — for paper

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