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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: roll · field · rash · hand · spell · cell · leaves · mine

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. field — a subject
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. cell — in biology
  5. hand — in cards
  6. spell — a short time
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. spell — magic
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. field — farmland
  12. hand — help
  13. field — for sport
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rash — a series
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. rash — hasty
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. roll — a cake
  23. cell — a phone
  24. roll — a list

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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