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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 · bore · cue · last · bass · cell · rock · march

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. last — final
  4. spell — a short time
  5. last — to go on
  6. cue — a signal
  7. bass — low music
  8. cue — for pool
  9. last — finally
  10. march — the month
  11. cue — a hint
  12. march — music
  13. rock — music
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in biology
  18. march — the month
  19. rock — a stone
  20. spell — letters
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. bore — to drill
  23. spell — magic
  24. bass — the instrument

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