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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. net — for catching
  3. rush — hurry
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. ground — crushed
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a music group
  8. band — a ring
  9. ground — a position
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. net — after costs
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. spell — magic
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. spell — a short time
  16. ground — the earth
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wind — moving air
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. drill — the tool
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — army training
  24. net — in sport

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