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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: chair · hand · deal · wave · face · spell · land · pit

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. face — to point toward
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. chair — a leader
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. land — a country
  7. pit — a hole
  8. land — ground
  9. land — to come down
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. pit — in a race
  12. face — to confront
  13. deal — to handle
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. spell — a short time
  19. face — part of the head
  20. spell — letters
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. hand — in cards
  24. hand — help

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