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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: fine · bat · ruler · spell · cell · kid

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. spell — magic
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. bat — the animal
  5. fine — all right
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. kid — child
  8. fine — high quality
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. kid — to tease
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. cell — a phone
  18. spell — a short time

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