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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.

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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: face · spell · cell · bulb · pitch · cold · trunk · last

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. cell — a phone
  4. face — part of the head
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — for light
  11. cold — an illness
  12. last — final
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. pitch — completely
  17. spell — magic
  18. face — to confront
  19. last — to go on
  20. cell — in biology
  21. spell — letters
  22. last — finally
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. face — to point toward

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