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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. kid — child
  3. spell — letters
  4. bore — to tire
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. plane — a tool
  7. cell — a phone
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. ball — a dance
  11. kid — to tease
  12. band — a ring
  13. band — a music group
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. spell — a short time
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. cell — in biology
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. bore — to drill
  24. spell — magic

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