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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.

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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: bat · chest · cold · suit · spell · plane · wound · cell

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. cell — in biology
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. suit — to fit
  5. cell — a phone
  6. spell — letters
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. suit — in cards
  9. bat — the animal
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. plane — a tool
  13. chest — of your body
  14. suit — clothes
  15. spell — magic
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cell — in a prison

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