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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 116 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: mine · spell · wound · wave · hand · rule · pass · cell

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. spell — magic
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. spell — letters
  8. pass — a permit
  9. hand — in cards
  10. wound — an injury
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. rule — a law
  14. rule — government
  15. mine — for digging
  16. wound — an injury
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — help
  19. cell — in biology
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. spell — a short time
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. rule — to rule out

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