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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. suit — in cards
  3. file — a document
  4. suit — to fit
  5. spell — a short time
  6. face — part of the head
  7. band — a music group
  8. face — to confront
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. spell — letters
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. shower — to wash
  14. band — a ring
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a tool
  18. face — to point toward
  19. rash — hasty
  20. spell — magic
  21. rash — a series
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. suit — clothes
  24. dip — to sink

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