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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: cold · plane · cell · bank · mark · game · wave · spell

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. cell — a phone
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. bank — for money
  5. cell — in biology
  6. cold — not warm
  7. spell — letters
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. bank — for money
  11. mark — a trace
  12. spell — magic
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. spell — a short time
  15. bank — of a river
  16. cold — an illness
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. game — wild animals
  19. game — a match
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. mark — a grade
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. plane — a tool

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