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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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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: spell · clip · rest · fork · deal · cell · tube · court

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. cell — a phone
  3. fork — in a road
  4. spell — a short time
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. court — of a king
  8. tube — the underground
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. rest — a break
  11. cell — in biology
  12. clip — for paper
  13. tube — a container
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — to cut
  16. court — of law
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. spell — letters
  19. rest — what's left
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. court — for sport
  22. spell — magic
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. deal — to handle

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