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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  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. spell — letters
  2. band — a ring
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. fine — high quality
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. band — a music group
  11. spell — magic
  12. prune — to trim
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. lie — to recline
  15. fine — all right
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. branch — a division
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. prune — to trim
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. ruler — for measuring
  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