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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. spell — a short time
  3. net — in sport
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. net — for catching
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. rest — what's left
  12. spell — letters
  13. shower — rain
  14. rest — what's left
  15. spell — magic
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. band — a ring
  18. mine — for digging
  19. shower — to wash
  20. band — a music group
  21. rule — government
  22. net — after costs
  23. rule — a law
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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