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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: game · spell · rest · track · chest · wind · bulb · tube

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. wind — moving air
  3. spell — a short time
  4. tube — the underground
  5. game — a match
  6. rest — what's left
  7. track — a path
  8. bulb — for light
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wind — moving air
  11. chest — a box
  12. bulb — for light
  13. track — to keep track
  14. spell — letters
  15. rest — what's left
  16. game — wild animals
  17. tube — a container
  18. chest — of your body
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. rest — a break
  24. track — a song

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