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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: cell · bay · bowl · rush · key · chip · spell · content

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. key — for a lock
  4. rush — hurry
  5. content — happy
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. key — in music
  10. spell — letters
  11. chip — for betting
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — in biology
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. key — the most important part
  18. spell — magic
  19. spell — a short time
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. content — the amount
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. chip — to eat

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