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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.

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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: spell · clip · rest · fork · deal · cell

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. rest — what's left
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. deal — to handle
  5. clip — to cut
  6. cell — a phone
  7. clip — a video
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. spell — letters
  10. rest — a break
  11. rest — what's left
  12. cell — in biology
  13. clip — for paper
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. spell — a short time
  16. spell — magic
  17. fork — in a road
  18. fork — to eat with

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