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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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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: foot · fall · wind · suit · spell · band · bowl · file

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. wind — moving air
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. spell — letters
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. fall — to drop
  8. file — a document
  9. suit — clothes
  10. file — a tool
  11. file — a line of people
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. suit — to fit
  15. band — a ring
  16. foot — a measure
  17. wind — moving air
  18. band — a music group
  19. fall — the season
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. spell — a short time
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. spell — magic
  24. fall — to drop

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