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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 · temple · bat · row · saw · wave · spell · dip

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. spell — letters
  4. cell — a phone
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. cell — in biology
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — the tool
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. dip — to sink
  15. bat — the animal
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. spell — magic
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. row — to paddle
  22. spell — a short time
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. bat — for baseball

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