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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 · chip · spell · band · hand · roll · bat · firm

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. hand — in cards
  4. roll — a cake
  5. spell — a short time
  6. firm — steady
  7. roll — a list
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. bat — the animal
  11. band — a music group
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. spell — magic
  14. band — a ring
  15. firm — decided
  16. chip — for betting
  17. spell — letters
  18. foot — a measure
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. hand — help
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. chip — to eat

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