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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: game · hand · spell · bulb · race · mate · chair · cell

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. mate — a partner
  4. spell — a short time
  5. game — a match
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. mate — a friend
  9. hand — help
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. cell — a phone
  12. race — a contest
  13. mate — to breed
  14. spell — letters
  15. race — humankind
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. hand — in cards
  18. spell — magic
  19. game — wild animals
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. race — the arms race
  22. bulb — for light
  23. cell — in biology
  24. bulb — for light

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