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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: object · cell · chest · spell · rule · squash

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  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. squash — to crush
  2. chest — a box
  3. squash — the sport
  4. object — an aim
  5. object — a thing
  6. chest — of your body
  7. spell — a short time
  8. spell — letters
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — a phone
  13. object — to protest
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. rule — government
  16. rule — a law
  17. spell — magic
  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