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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: file · land · row · vault · hand · spell · pound · dip

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. row — a line
  4. spell — letters
  5. row — to paddle
  6. file — a tool
  7. hand — help
  8. spell — a short time
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. land — ground
  12. pound — a weight
  13. hand — in cards
  14. vault — a safe
  15. land — a country
  16. file — a document
  17. land — to come down
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. dip — to sink
  24. file — a line of people

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