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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. spell — letters
  3. mate — a partner
  4. spell — a short time
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. row — to paddle
  8. spell — magic
  9. mate — to breed
  10. spring — a coil
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. band — a music group
  14. band — a ring
  15. spring — of water
  16. mate — a friend
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. spring — the season
  19. kick — in football
  20. row — a line
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. lie — to recline
  24. game — wild animals

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