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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. spell — letters
  3. spell — a short time
  4. current — of water
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. spell — magic
  8. deal — to handle
  9. net — in sport
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. wake — a trail
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. current — happening now
  17. net — for catching
  18. current — electric
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. bark — to shout
  21. sharp — clever
  22. net — after costs
  23. band — a music group
  24. wake — before a funeral

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