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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: row · band · spell · foot · chair · rock · spring · pit

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. spell — a short time
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. spring — a coil
  5. band — a ring
  6. foot — a measure
  7. spring — of water
  8. rock — music
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. spring — the season
  11. chair — a leader
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. band — a music group
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. pit — a hole
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. row — to paddle
  19. spell — magic
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. pit — in a race
  22. rock — a stone
  23. row — a line
  24. spell — letters

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