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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: mate · saw · march · stand · spell · arm · cell · roll

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. cell — a phone
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. saw — the tool
  6. spell — magic
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. march — the month
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. stand — to bear
  11. cell — in biology
  12. mate — a friend
  13. march — the month
  14. saw — the tool
  15. mate — a partner
  16. roll — a cake
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. march — music
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. spell — letters
  22. spell — a short time
  23. roll — a list
  24. stand — on your feet

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