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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. stand — to bear
  4. craft — boats
  5. spell — magic
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — temperature
  8. spell — letters
  9. craft — a skill
  10. spring — of water
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. spring — a coil
  13. band — a ring
  14. band — a music group
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. rest — what's left
  18. degree — from a university
  19. rest — what's left
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. rest — a break
  22. spring — the season
  23. spell — a short time
  24. stand — on your feet

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