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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.

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: scale · mine · mate · spell · pitcher · cell · hide · ground

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ground — a position
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. ground — the earth
  7. mine — for digging
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. cell — in biology
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. cell — a phone
  13. spell — a short time
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. spell — magic
  16. mate — to breed
  17. scale — in music
  18. scale — size or range
  19. mate — a friend
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. mate — a partner
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. pitcher — a jug

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