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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 120 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: rest · bound · spell · land · root · shower · mine · foot

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spell — letters
  3. root — of a plant
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. bound — certain
  7. shower — to wash
  8. bound — tied together
  9. rest — what's left
  10. spell — a short time
  11. land — ground
  12. land — to come down
  13. foot — a measure
  14. rest — what's left
  15. root — the cause
  16. bound — obliged
  17. land — a country
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. mine — for digging
  21. shower — rain
  22. root — of a word
  23. rest — a break
  24. foot — the bottom

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