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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 120 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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. spell — magic
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. tube — the underground
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. wound — an injury
  9. spell — a short time
  10. mate — to breed
  11. object — to protest
  12. band — a music group
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. mate — a friend
  15. mate — a partner
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. object — an aim
  19. tube — a container
  20. band — a ring
  21. wound — an injury
  22. object — a thing
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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