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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. spring — a coil
  3. band — a ring
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. spell — a short time
  6. spring — of water
  7. net — in sport
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. net — for catching
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. firm — steady
  12. band — a music group
  13. net — after costs
  14. spring — the season
  15. mark — a grade
  16. branch — a division
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. kid — to tease
  19. firm — a company
  20. kid — child
  21. spell — magic
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. mark — a trace
  24. firm — decided

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