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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: wound · spell · rest · lash · band · track · file · drill

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spell — a short time
  3. rest — what's left
  4. file — a tool
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. wound — an injury
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. band — a music group
  10. drill — a practice
  11. track — to keep track
  12. rest — a break
  13. band — a ring
  14. rest — what's left
  15. track — a path
  16. file — a line of people
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. drill — army training
  20. spell — letters
  21. track — a song
  22. drill — the tool
  23. file — a document
  24. wound — an injury

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