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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: spell · band · sharp · row · stand · roll · can · wound

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. sharp — clever
  3. wound — an injury
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. wound — an injury
  6. roll — a cake
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. can — a tin
  9. band — a ring
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. stand — to bear
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. roll — a list
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. can — to be able to
  17. row — a line
  18. spell — a short time
  19. spell — magic
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. row — to paddle
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. band — a music group
  24. can — a tin

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