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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. game — wild animals
  3. file — a tool
  4. bore — to tire
  5. spell — letters
  6. toast — bread
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. spring — a coil
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. bore — to drill
  11. spell — a short time
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. spell — magic
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. spring — of water
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a document
  19. band — a music group
  20. spring — the season
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. game — a match
  23. band — a ring
  24. pitcher — a jug

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