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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: band · shower · bass · calf · safe · spell · roll · cap

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. spell — magic
  3. cap — of ice
  4. spell — letters
  5. bass — low music
  6. roll — a list
  7. shower — rain
  8. bass — the fish
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. band — a music group
  13. band — a ring
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. roll — a cake
  16. shower — to wash
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. cap — a hat
  20. cap — a lid
  21. spell — a short time
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. calf — of the leg

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