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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. wind — moving air
  3. spell — a short time
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. row — to paddle
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. rest — what's left
  8. row — a line
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. spell — magic
  12. rest — a break
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. sharp — clever
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. wind — moving air
  18. rest — what's left
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. spell — letters
  21. band — a music group
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. kick — in football

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