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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. game — a match
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. staff — employees
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. spell — a short time
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. drill — army training
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. game — wild animals
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. staff — employees
  13. spell — letters
  14. branch — a division
  15. spell — magic
  16. staff — a stick
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. drill — the tool
  22. drill — a practice
  23. band — a ring
  24. hide — to keep secret

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