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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
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Word bank
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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. spell — a short time
  3. face — to point toward
  4. spell — magic
  5. band — a ring
  6. track — a song
  7. band — a music group
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. face — to confront
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. track — to keep track
  12. spring — the season
  13. track — a path
  14. face — part of the head
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. spring — a coil
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. spring — of water

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