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

Word bank: bowl · cap · kid · spell · leaves · band · chair · rock

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. rock — music
  3. spell — magic
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. spell — letters
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. spell — a short time
  12. kid — to tease
  13. cap — a lid
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. chair — a leader
  17. band — a music group
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. band — a ring
  21. cap — of ice
  22. cap — a hat
  23. rock — a stone
  24. chair — a professorship

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