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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: game · spell · roll · bay · rash · land · lean · cold

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rash — a series
  3. game — a match
  4. roll — a list
  5. roll — a cake
  6. spell — a short time
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. spell — letters
  9. land — a country
  10. land — ground
  11. lean — thin
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. land — to come down
  14. game — wild animals
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. lean — to bend
  20. cold — not warm
  21. spell — magic
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. cold — an illness

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