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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bore — to tire
  7. toast — bread
  8. spell — a short time
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. wound — an injury
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. season — of the year
  16. spell — magic
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. bore — to drill
  19. spell — letters
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. band — a music group
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. season — in sport
  24. wound — an injury

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