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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 120 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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. track — to keep track
  5. band — a ring
  6. track — a path
  7. dip — to sink
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spell — magic
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. wax — to grow
  15. track — a song
  16. spell — letters
  17. deal — to handle
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — of water
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. spell — a short time

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