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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: straw · lean · spell · foot · bowl · game · cabinet · cell

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. game — a match
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. game — wild animals
  6. spell — letters
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. lean — to bend
  12. foot — a measure
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. lean — thin
  17. spell — a short time
  18. spell — magic
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cabinet — ministers

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