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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. spell — magic
  5. band — a music group
  6. pitch — completely
  7. bulb — for light
  8. sharp — clever
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. spell — a short time
  15. scale — in music
  16. spell — letters
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. scale — size or range
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. bulb — for light
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. wake — a trail

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