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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: rock · foot · spring · spell · season · band · shower · pit

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. pit — in a race
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. rock — music
  6. spell — letters
  7. shower — rain
  8. season — in sport
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. pit — a hole
  12. foot — a measure
  13. spring — the season
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. spell — a short time
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. season — of the year
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. band — a ring
  20. shower — to wash
  21. band — a music group
  22. spring — a coil
  23. rock — a stone
  24. spring — of water

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