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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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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. spring — the season
  3. band — a music group
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. row — a line
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. spring — of water
  13. band — a ring
  14. row — to paddle
  15. wake — a trail
  16. spring — a coil
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. deal — an agreement

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