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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. spell — magic
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. band — a music group
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — for digging
  9. net — after costs
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. rule — government
  12. pound — a weight
  13. net — for catching
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. rule — a law
  17. net — in sport
  18. spell — a short time
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. band — a ring
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — in an idiom

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