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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. bear — the animal
  3. file — a line of people
  4. spring — a coil
  5. bat — the animal
  6. spell — magic
  7. spring — of water
  8. spell — letters
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. club — for dancing
  11. band — a ring
  12. lie — to recline
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. club — a group
  16. file — a document
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. band — a music group
  20. spring — the season
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. file — a tool
  23. club — for golf
  24. bear — the animal

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