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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: clip · mine · spell · cell · cabinet · bear · toast · court

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. spell — letters
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. spell — magic
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. bear — the animal
  9. court — of law
  10. court — of a king
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. mine — for digging
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. clip — a video
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. toast — bread
  19. cell — a phone
  20. court — for sport
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bear — the animal
  23. spell — a short time
  24. cell — in biology

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