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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cold · spell · bark · game · rock · fork · mug · band

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. rock — a stone
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. spell — magic
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. mug — a face
  9. mug — a cup
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spell — letters
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. game — wild animals
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. band — a music group
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. mug — to rob
  18. game — a match
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — an illness
  22. rock — music
  23. fork — in a road
  24. bark — to shout

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