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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: wind · bowl · roll · staff · rest · bay · ground · spell

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. staff — employees
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ground — a position
  5. roll — a cake
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. staff — employees
  8. spell — letters
  9. spell — magic
  10. rest — what's left
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. ground — the earth
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. staff — a stick
  16. rest — a break
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. spell — a short time
  23. wind — moving air
  24. rest — what's left

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