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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. band — a music group
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. spell — magic
  5. face — to point toward
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. fork — in a road
  8. cold — an illness
  9. face — to confront
  10. face — part of the head
  11. deal — to handle
  12. spell — a short time
  13. hand — in cards
  14. can — a tin
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — not warm
  17. hand — help
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. can — a tin
  21. spell — letters
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. band — a ring
  24. fork — to eat with

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