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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. staff — employees
  3. bound — certain
  4. band — a ring
  5. bound — obliged
  6. spell — magic
  7. key — the most important part
  8. key — for a lock
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. press — to push
  11. band — a music group
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. rash — a series
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. rash — hasty
  18. key — in music
  19. press — newspapers
  20. spell — a short time
  21. staff — a stick
  22. staff — employees
  23. bound — tied together
  24. press — a publisher

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