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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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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: chest · mate · spell · staff · snap · cold · bowl · deal

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. cold — an illness
  4. staff — employees
  5. chest — of your body
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. deal — to handle
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. spell — a short time
  10. mate — to breed
  11. staff — employees
  12. cold — not warm
  13. mate — a partner
  14. spell — magic
  15. spell — letters
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. staff — a stick
  18. chest — a box
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. snap — to click
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bowl — to roll

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