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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: saw · nail · wound · land · roll · cabinet · cell · spell

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  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. land — ground
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. spell — a short time
  7. land — a country
  8. cell — in biology
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. spell — letters
  11. saw — the tool
  12. land — to come down
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. roll — a list
  15. saw — the tool
  16. roll — a cake
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cell — a phone
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. wound — an injury
  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