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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: spell · hand · pass · hide · spring · clip · cell · band

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. clip — to cut
  3. spell — magic
  4. band — a music group
  5. hand — in cards
  6. spring — the season
  7. cell — a phone
  8. pass — a permit
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a ring
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. spell — letters
  14. spell — a short time
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. clip — for paper
  21. spring — of water
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. clip — a video
  24. hand — help

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