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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chest · spring · row · stand · mate · spell · band · court

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. spell — magic
  3. mate — a friend
  4. spring — the season
  5. mate — to breed
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. spring — of water
  8. row — a line
  9. spring — a coil
  10. chest — a box
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. row — to paddle
  13. stand — to bear
  14. court — of a king
  15. spell — a short time
  16. court — for sport
  17. chest — of your body
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. band — a ring
  21. band — a music group
  22. court — of law
  23. spell — letters
  24. chest — of your body

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