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

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spell — letters
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. spell — a short time
  6. band — a ring
  7. chip — for betting
  8. plane — a tool
  9. chip — to eat
  10. band — a music group
  11. cell — a phone
  12. saw — the tool
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — a video
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. clip — for paper
  24. saw — the tool

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