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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. spell — letters
  3. band — a music group
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. degree — an amount
  6. present — the time now
  7. net — in sport
  8. wind — moving air
  9. band — a ring
  10. present — there
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. degree — from a university
  13. net — for catching
  14. spell — a short time
  15. degree — temperature
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. lie — to recline
  18. roll — a cake
  19. net — after costs
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. roll — a list
  23. wind — moving air
  24. spell — magic

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