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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.

Make a worksheet

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: trunk · staff · spell · cell · foot · net · roll · cold

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. net — for catching
  5. cell — a phone
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. cold — an illness
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. foot — a measure
  10. spell — letters
  11. net — in sport
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. staff — a stick
  14. net — after costs
  15. staff — employees
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — in biology
  19. staff — employees
  20. roll — a list
  21. roll — a cake
  22. spell — a short time
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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