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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: cell · perch · field · game · spell · bound

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. spell — a short time
  3. cell — in biology
  4. bound — obliged
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. game — wild animals
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — for sport
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. field — farmland
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. spell — magic
  14. bound — certain
  15. bound — tied together
  16. game — a match
  17. perch — the fish
  18. cell — a phone

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