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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 116 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 asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. track — a path
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. cold — not warm
  6. spell — a short time
  7. spell — letters
  8. track — a song
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. band — a ring
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. track — to keep track
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. fine — high quality
  15. band — a music group
  16. snap — to click
  17. bulb — for light
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. fine — all right
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bulb — for light
  24. fan — to cool the air

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