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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: wind · mouse · march · mug · spell · bat · content · band

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. spell — magic
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. band — a ring
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. spell — letters
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. bat — the animal
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. march — the month
  13. band — a music group
  14. content — the amount
  15. march — music
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. march — the month
  18. mug — to rob
  19. content — happy
  20. spell — a short time
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. wind — moving air
  23. mug — a cup
  24. wind — moving air

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