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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
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: spell · bat · rule · chest · foot · scale · temple · spring

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. spring — a coil
  3. scale — size or range
  4. chest — of your body
  5. foot — a measure
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. scale — in music
  10. chest — of your body
  11. spring — of water
  12. bat — the animal
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. chest — a box
  16. spring — the season
  17. spell — magic
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. rule — a law
  20. spell — a short time
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. rule — government
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. foot — part of the body

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