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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. band — a ring
  3. key — in music
  4. track — a path
  5. prune — to trim
  6. face — to confront
  7. rest — a break
  8. key — the most important part
  9. face — part of the head
  10. spell — letters
  11. wind — moving air
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — what's left
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. prune — to trim
  17. track — to keep track
  18. key — for a lock
  19. spell — magic
  20. band — a music group
  21. track — a song
  22. face — to point toward
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. spell — a short time

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