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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 · rush · mark · bay · pitch · kid · cell · spell

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. spell — a short time
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. pitch — completely
  6. fall — the season
  7. rush — hurry
  8. mark — a trace
  9. fall — to drop
  10. spell — magic
  11. kid — child
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. mark — a grade
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. kid — to tease
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. spell — letters
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — in biology
  24. fall — to drop

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