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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: band · cold · spell · fine · face · saw · cell · swing

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. spell — letters
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cell — in biology
  7. spell — a short time
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. cell — a phone
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. face — part of the head
  12. cold — not warm
  13. swing — to play on
  14. fine — all right
  15. face — to confront
  16. swing — music
  17. saw — the tool
  18. band — a music group
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. face — to point toward
  21. swing — in golf
  22. fine — high quality
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. spell — magic

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