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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. spell — a short time
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — from a university
  5. staff — employees
  6. spell — magic
  7. fork — in a road
  8. file — a line of people
  9. firm — decided
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. firm — a company
  12. firm — steady
  13. season — of the year
  14. season — in sport
  15. band — a music group
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. file — a document
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. staff — a stick
  20. degree — temperature
  21. spell — letters
  22. staff — employees
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. file — a tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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