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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 120 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: straw · rash · scale · spell · cell · track · cold · deal

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cold — an illness
  5. scale — in music
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. spell — letters
  8. track — a path
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. deal — to handle
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. cell — a phone
  15. track — to keep track
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rash — a series
  18. spell — magic
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. track — a song
  22. rash — hasty
  23. scale — size or range
  24. cold — not warm

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