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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. spell — letters
  3. key — the most important part
  4. squash — to crush
  5. perch — the fish
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. key — in music
  10. content — the amount
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. content — happy
  13. squash — the sport
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. band — a ring
  16. spell — a short time
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. spell — magic
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. key — for a lock
  22. rush — hurry
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. perch — for a bird

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