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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: spell · mine · bowl · deal · calf · face · band · hand

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. face — to confront
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. spell — a short time
  6. hand — in cards
  7. spell — magic
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. hand — help
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. face — part of the head
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. face — to point toward
  19. mine — for digging
  20. deal — to handle
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. band — a ring
  23. spell — letters
  24. deal — an agreement

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