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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. band — a ring
  3. pop — soda
  4. pop — music
  5. spell — a short time
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. key — the most important part
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. spell — letters
  12. key — for a lock
  13. spell — magic
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. shower — rain
  16. branch — a division
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. key — in music
  20. shower — to wash
  21. band — a music group
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. ruler — a monarch

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