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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. spell — letters
  3. deal — to handle
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. spell — a short time
  7. spell — magic
  8. cold — not warm
  9. band — a ring
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. cold — an illness
  15. lean — thin
  16. lean — to bend
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. band — a rubber band

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