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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. band — a ring
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. band — a music group
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. track — to keep track
  7. swing — music
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. swing — in golf
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. swing — to play on
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. spell — letters
  16. track — a path
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. track — a song
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. spell — a short time
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. coach — a trainer

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