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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. spell — a short time
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fork — in a road
  6. track — a song
  7. row — a line
  8. spell — magic
  9. track — to keep track
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. track — a path
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wound — an injury
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. row — to paddle
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wound — an injury
  21. band — a ring
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. band — a music group
  24. spell — letters

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