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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.

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: mate · plane · bat · squash · cell · face · spell · rash

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. face — part of the head
  3. mate — to breed
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. spell — a short time
  6. spell — magic
  7. mate — a friend
  8. rash — a series
  9. plane — a tool
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. mate — a partner
  12. cell — a phone
  13. squash — to crush
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. bat — the animal
  17. spell — letters
  18. face — to point toward
  19. rash — hasty
  20. squash — the sport
  21. cell — in biology
  22. face — to confront
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. bat — in an idiom

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