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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. fork — in a road
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. spell — magic
  5. band — a ring
  6. rash — a series
  7. rash — hasty
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. spell — letters
  12. wind — moving air
  13. spell — a short time
  14. track — a song
  15. track — a path
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. track — to keep track
  18. band — a music group

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