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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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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: bear · prune · band · lie · game · cell · spell · file

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. prune — to trim
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. spell — magic
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. lie — to recline
  9. file — a line of people
  10. cell — in biology
  11. band — a music group
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. bear — the animal
  14. file — a document
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. cell — a phone
  17. game — a match
  18. file — a tool
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. bear — the animal
  21. game — wild animals
  22. band — a ring
  23. prune — to trim
  24. spell — letters

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