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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.

Make a worksheet

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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. spell — letters
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. fine — all right
  5. cell — a phone
  6. fine — high quality
  7. season — of the year
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. clip — for paper
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spell — magic
  12. season — in sport
  13. clip — a video
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. clip — to cut
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. cell — in biology

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