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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: game · saw · pop · wound · safe · cell · land · spell

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. spell — magic
  4. game — wild animals
  5. spell — a short time
  6. wound — an injury
  7. saw — the tool
  8. game — a match
  9. pop — music
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. land — ground
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. land — to come down
  16. spell — letters
  17. saw — the tool
  18. pop — soda
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. land — a country
  21. pop — to visit
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. safe — a strongbox

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