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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. spell — magic
  3. face — part of the head
  4. key — in music
  5. object — a thing
  6. key — for a lock
  7. key — the most important part
  8. fall — to drop
  9. band — a music group
  10. face — to point toward
  11. face — to confront
  12. band — a ring
  13. fall — to drop
  14. rush — hurry
  15. object — an aim
  16. object — to protest
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. spell — letters
  20. spell — a short time
  21. fall — the season
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. kid — to tease
  24. band — a rubber band

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