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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 120 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 asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. file — a tool
  3. spell — a short time
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. spell — letters
  7. lean — to bend
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. band — a music group
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. lean — thin
  14. rule — a law
  15. lie — to recline
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a line of people
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. chair — a leader
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. snap — to click
  24. rule — government

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