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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
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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: clip · band · field · season · cell · mate · spell · current

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. current — happening now
  3. spell — a short time
  4. field — for sport
  5. season — in sport
  6. mate — to breed
  7. field — a subject
  8. spell — magic
  9. band — a ring
  10. season — of the year
  11. current — of water
  12. clip — to cut
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. spell — letters
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. field — farmland
  17. cell — in biology
  18. clip — for paper
  19. current — electric
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. clip — a video
  22. mate — a partner
  23. cell — a phone
  24. band — a music group

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