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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 120 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: suit · cue · arm · cell · spell · land · wake · chest

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. cue — for pool
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. chest — of your body
  5. land — to come down
  6. cue — a hint
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. wake — a trail
  9. chest — of your body
  10. spell — magic
  11. chest — a box
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. suit — clothes
  14. suit — to fit
  15. land — ground
  16. suit — in cards
  17. spell — letters
  18. cell — a phone
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cue — a signal
  22. land — a country
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. spell — a short time

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