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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: spell · staff · shower · mate · nail · deal · band · file

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. spell — a short time
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. staff — employees
  5. spell — letters
  6. staff — a stick
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mate — a friend
  9. file — a line of people
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. file — a tool
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. file — a document
  14. spell — magic
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. band — a music group
  18. shower — rain
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. shower — to wash
  21. band — a ring
  22. mate — to breed
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. deal — to handle

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