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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. spell — letters
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. chest — a box
  5. spell — a short time
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bear — the animal
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. spell — magic
  11. band — a ring
  12. land — to come down
  13. chest — of your body
  14. land — ground
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. land — a country
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. band — a music group
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. chest — of your body
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — to put up with

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