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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 · shower · cell · bear · lean · pound · mate · band

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. shower — rain
  5. cell — a phone
  6. band — a music group
  7. pound — a weight
  8. mate — a partner
  9. shower — to wash
  10. cell — in biology
  11. mate — a friend
  12. bear — the animal
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. bear — the animal
  15. spell — magic
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. band — a ring
  19. spell — letters
  20. mate — to breed
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. spell — a short time
  24. lean — to bend

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