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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: row · spring · wound · nail · staff · rule · band · spell

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. wound — an injury
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. spring — the season
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. staff — a stick
  9. staff — employees
  10. rule — a law
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — magic
  14. row — a line
  15. band — a ring
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. spell — a short time
  19. spring — of water
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. staff — employees
  23. row — to paddle
  24. rule — government

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