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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: last · pit · hide · wound · cell · leaves · swing · spell

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. spell — letters
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. swing — music
  6. last — final
  7. last — to go on
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. spell — magic
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. cell — in biology
  13. pit — a hole
  14. swing — to play on
  15. wound — an injury
  16. swing — in golf
  17. wound — an injury
  18. spell — a short time
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. pit — in a race
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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