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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 asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. chest — a box
  3. band — a music group
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. row — to paddle
  6. mark — a grade
  7. chest — of your body
  8. face — part of the head
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. face — to confront
  12. row — a line
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. lean — to bend
  15. lean — thin
  16. mark — a trace
  17. spell — letters
  18. wind — moving air
  19. band — a ring
  20. face — to point toward
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. chest — of your body
  24. spell — a short time

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