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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: spell · pitcher · club · mark · chair · cabinet · spring · cell

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  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. pitcher — a jug
  2. mark — a trace
  3. club — for golf
  4. club — a group
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — a coil
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — a phone
  13. spell — letters
  14. mark — a grade
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. spring — the season
  17. chair — a leader
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. club — for dancing
  21. cell — in biology
  22. spell — magic
  23. cabinet — ministers
  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