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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  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. fine — high quality
  2. root — the cause
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — the season
  7. shower — to wash
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. wake — a trail
  11. root — of a plant
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. fine — all right
  14. band — a music group
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. spell — magic
  18. spring — of water
  19. spell — a short time
  20. band — a ring
  21. root — of a word
  22. spell — letters
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  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