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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: cell · chair · band · pit · tear · root · kid · spell

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. tear — to rip
  4. spell — magic
  5. band — a music group
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. band — a ring
  11. root — the cause
  12. spell — letters
  13. pit — a hole
  14. root — of a plant
  15. cell — in biology
  16. chair — a leader
  17. kid — child
  18. pit — in a race
  19. kid — to tease
  20. root — of a word
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. tear — from crying
  24. spell — a short time

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