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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: foot · spell · object · rush · mate · cell · chair · kid

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. spell — letters
  3. rush — hurry
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. object — a thing
  9. object — to protest
  10. mate — to breed
  11. cell — a phone
  12. mate — a partner
  13. mate — a friend
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. kid — to tease
  16. foot — a measure
  17. spell — magic
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. chair — a leader
  20. object — an aim
  21. spell — a short time
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. kid — child

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