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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: spell · craft · lean · chest · kid · cell · club · ruler

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — letters
  4. club — for dancing
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. lean — thin
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. lean — to bend
  9. kid — child
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. club — a group
  14. craft — a skill
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. spell — a short time
  17. chest — of your body
  18. club — for golf
  19. kid — to tease
  20. cell — in biology
  21. craft — boats
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. chest — a box

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