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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 asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. chest — of your body
  5. present — a gift
  6. spell — letters
  7. chest — of your body
  8. perch — the fish
  9. present — the time now
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. mug — to rob
  14. branch — a division
  15. present — there
  16. mug — a cup
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — to tease
  19. band — a music group
  20. band — a ring
  21. spell — a short time
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. chest — a box
  24. mug — a face

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