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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 · roll · spring · face · swing · spell · bat · ruler

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. spring — the season
  4. swing — music
  5. spell — magic
  6. face — to point toward
  7. swing — in golf
  8. face — to confront
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. band — a ring
  11. bat — the animal
  12. band — a music group
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. spell — a short time
  15. spring — a coil
  16. face — part of the head
  17. swing — to play on
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. spring — of water
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. roll — a list
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. spell — letters

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