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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
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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: cabinet · scale · cell · jam · spell · net · race · bat

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. net — for catching
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. spell — letters
  7. race — humankind
  8. spell — magic
  9. net — in sport
  10. cell — a phone
  11. spell — a short time
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — the arms race
  17. cell — in biology
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. net — after costs
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. scale — size or range
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. scale — in music
  24. bat — the animal

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