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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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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: plane · cell · fall · wound · present · spell · wind · mark

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. wound — an injury
  7. present — a gift
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — in biology
  10. fall — to drop
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. present — there
  13. cell — a phone
  14. spell — letters
  15. plane — a tool
  16. wound — an injury
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. fall — the season
  20. spell — a short time
  21. fall — to drop
  22. mark — a trace
  23. mark — a grade
  24. spell — magic

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