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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. bear — the animal
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. track — to keep track
  7. band — a music group
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. chest — of your body
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. spell — a short time
  13. mine — for digging
  14. chest — a box
  15. fine — high quality
  16. track — a song
  17. bear — the animal
  18. spell — magic
  19. track — a path
  20. band — a ring
  21. stem — to come from
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. chest — of your body
  24. fine — all right

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