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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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. spell — magic
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. mug — a face
  6. chest — of your body
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. band — a music group
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. mug — a cup
  13. mug — to rob
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. spell — letters
  17. spell — a short time
  18. chest — of your body
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. plane — a tool
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. band — a ring
  23. chest — a box
  24. shower — rain

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