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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: fall · foot · cell · perch · cap · spell · spring · bat

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. cell — in biology
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. spell — magic
  5. spring — the season
  6. fall — to drop
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. spell — letters
  9. cap — a hat
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. cell — a phone
  12. spell — a short time
  13. fall — to drop
  14. bat — the animal
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. spring — a coil
  17. cap — of ice
  18. foot — a measure
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. perch — the fish
  21. spring — of water
  22. fall — the season
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cap — a lid

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