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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. band — a music group
  3. band — a ring
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. spell — magic
  8. key — the most important part
  9. key — for a lock
  10. tear — from crying
  11. spell — a short time
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. tear — from crying
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. cell — a phone
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. stem — to come from
  21. tear — to rip
  22. key — in music
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. temple — a place of worship

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