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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: mine · fan · spell · bore · shower · wound · mug · band

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. band — a ring
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — an injury
  6. shower — to wash
  7. spell — a short time
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. mine — for digging
  10. bore — to tire
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mug — a cup
  17. mug — to rob
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. bore — to drill
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. spell — letters
  22. mug — a face
  23. shower — rain
  24. band — a music group

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