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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 116 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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. net — in sport
  5. ball — a great time
  6. drill — army training
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. fine — all right
  10. band — a music group
  11. mine — for digging
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — letters
  15. net — for catching
  16. drill — a practice
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. net — after costs
  19. fine — high quality
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. spell — magic
  23. drill — the tool
  24. ball — a dance

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