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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 116 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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mine · spell · cell · march · pitcher · pound · nail · safe

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. pound — a weight
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. march — the month
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. mine — for digging
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. cell — a phone
  12. spell — letters
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. spell — a short time
  20. march — the month
  21. march — music
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. pound — to hit hard

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