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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: cell · cold · spell · mouse · stem · ruler

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. spell — letters
  3. cell — in biology
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. cell — a phone
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. spell — a short time
  9. spell — magic
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. cold — an illness
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. cold — not warm
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. cold — the Cold War

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