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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. pitch — completely
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. spell — magic
  6. face — to point toward
  7. file — a line of people
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. season — in sport
  11. hand — in cards
  12. file — a document
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. spell — letters
  16. file — a tool
  17. season — of the year
  18. spell — a short time
  19. face — to confront
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. face — part of the head
  22. hand — help
  23. band — a music group
  24. season — to add flavour

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