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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. object — to protest
  3. band — a music group
  4. object — a thing
  5. band — a ring
  6. wind — moving air
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. drill — the tool
  9. spell — magic
  10. bat — the animal
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. court — of a king
  13. drill — army training
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. court — of law
  16. wind — moving air
  17. drill — a practice
  18. object — an aim
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — letters
  24. court — for sport

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