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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 116 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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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 · cell · rock · wave · cold · track · rule · mate

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. spell — letters
  3. track — a path
  4. cell — a phone
  5. spell — a short time
  6. rule — government
  7. rock — a stone
  8. rock — music
  9. track — to keep track
  10. rule — a law
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. mate — a friend
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. cell — in biology
  15. mate — a partner
  16. cold — not warm
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. spell — magic
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. mate — to breed
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. track — a song

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