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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 116 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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. band — a music group
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. spell — magic
  5. mug — a face
  6. hand — help
  7. fork — in a road
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. mug — a cup
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. dip — to sink
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. stem — to come from
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. band — a ring
  17. spell — a short time
  18. mug — to rob
  19. hand — in cards
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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