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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 120 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
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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: band · lie · spell · rash · cold · spring · mug · kid

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. spring — a coil
  3. kid — child
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. band — a music group
  8. band — a ring
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. rash — hasty
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. mug — to rob
  13. mug — a cup
  14. mug — a face
  15. spring — of water
  16. spell — letters
  17. spell — a short time
  18. rash — a series
  19. spring — the season
  20. spell — magic
  21. kid — to tease
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. lie — to recline
  24. cold — not warm

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