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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: band · file · rash · spell · cell · pop · lash · mine

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. spell — a short time
  3. band — a music group
  4. pop — soda
  5. spell — magic
  6. file — a line of people
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. cell — in biology
  11. file — a document
  12. rash — a series
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. spell — letters
  15. cell — a phone
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. rash — hasty
  19. mine — for digging
  20. file — a tool
  21. pop — music
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. pop — to visit
  24. rash — on the skin

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