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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 120 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: bear · spell · mine · swing · sharp · band · ground · leaves

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. spell — letters
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — for digging
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. bear — the animal
  8. ground — crushed
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. swing — in golf
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a ring
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. spell — magic
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. ground — a position
  18. bear — the animal
  19. ground — the earth
  20. spell — a short time
  21. sharp — clever
  22. swing — to play on
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. band — a music group

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