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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 always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. band — a ring
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. band — a music group
  6. ground — the earth
  7. bass — the fish
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. saw — the tool
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. spell — a short time
  14. ground — a position
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bass — low music
  18. shower — to wash
  19. shower — rain
  20. spell — letters
  21. ground — crushed
  22. dip — to sink
  23. spell — magic
  24. bass — the instrument

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