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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: mate · cell · mine · bat · drill · spell · bulb · pitcher

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. spell — magic
  3. mate — to breed
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. spell — letters
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. drill — army training
  12. cell — a phone
  13. drill — a practice
  14. bulb — for light
  15. mate — a friend
  16. mate — a partner
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. drill — the tool
  20. cell — in biology
  21. spell — a short time
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — for digging

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