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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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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: firm · ruler · cell · kid · bowl · plane · cold · spell

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. spell — magic
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cell — in biology
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. firm — a company
  9. firm — steady
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. cold — not warm
  14. kid — child
  15. cell — a phone
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. spell — letters
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. plane — a tool
  21. spell — a short time
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. kid — to tease
  24. ruler — a monarch

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