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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 116 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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. spell — magic
  4. spell — a short time
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. band — a ring
  7. spell — letters
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. sharp — clever
  11. wind — moving air
  12. rule — a law
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — the animal
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. degree — from a university
  17. wind — moving air
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. degree — an amount
  20. rule — government
  21. band — a music group
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. degree — temperature
  24. wind — to turn a key

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