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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.

Make a worksheet

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: spell · plane · roll · shower · wind · stick · mine · ball

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. spell — letters
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. ball — a dance
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — rain
  8. wind — moving air
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. roll — a list
  14. wind — moving air
  15. plane — a tool
  16. roll — a cake
  17. spell — magic
  18. mine — for digging
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. spell — a short time
  22. shower — to wash
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. ball — a round shape

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