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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bound · saw · band · calf · face · spell · shower · clip

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. spell — letters
  3. band — a ring
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. shower — to wash
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. bound — obliged
  8. saw — the tool
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. face — to point toward
  11. spell — magic
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — to cut
  14. face — part of the head
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. bound — tied together
  17. spell — a short time
  18. bound — certain
  19. band — a music group
  20. saw — the tool
  21. face — to confront
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. clip — a video
  24. calf — a young animal

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