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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: spring · rest · kid · cabinet · arm · band · wake · spell

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. kid — child
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. spell — magic
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — of water
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. kid — to tease
  14. spell — a short time
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — what's left
  17. spell — letters
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. band — a ring
  22. band — a music group
  23. rest — a break
  24. wake — a trail

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