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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. spell — magic
  3. band — a ring
  4. present — a gift
  5. spell — letters
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. capital — money
  8. cap — of ice
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. present — there
  12. mug — a cup
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cap — a lid
  15. capital — a city
  16. band — a music group
  17. spell — a short time
  18. mug — to rob
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. present — the time now
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. nail — for a hammer

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