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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. bear — the animal
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. drill — the tool
  6. pop — to visit
  7. drill — army training
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. file — a document
  10. spell — letters
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. file — a line of people
  13. hand — help
  14. drill — a practice
  15. bear — the animal
  16. spell — a short time
  17. pop — soda
  18. file — a tool
  19. hand — in cards
  20. band — a ring
  21. band — a music group
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. spell — magic
  24. pop — music

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