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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 116 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 is an ace ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. season — of the year
  3. spell — letters
  4. bank — for money
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. spell — a short time
  7. bank — for money
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. spell — magic
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. bank — of a river
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. band — a music group
  14. shower — to wash
  15. band — a ring
  16. court — of law
  17. court — of a king
  18. season — in sport
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. wind — moving air
  21. court — for sport
  22. shower — rain
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pitcher — a jug

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