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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 · wind · lean · rule · pitcher · ground · fine · spell

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. ground — the earth
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. spell — letters
  5. band — a music group
  6. wind — moving air
  7. spell — magic
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. lean — thin
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. band — a ring
  15. ground — a position
  16. fine — high quality
  17. rule — a law
  18. fine — all right
  19. ground — crushed
  20. wind — moving air
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. lean — to bend
  23. spell — a short time
  24. lean — to rest against

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