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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: roll · ball · cell · face · object · spell · hand · craft

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. roll — a cake
  3. spell — magic
  4. ball — a dance
  5. ball — a great time
  6. spell — letters
  7. craft — boats
  8. face — part of the head
  9. craft — a skill
  10. cell — in biology
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. face — to confront
  13. spell — a short time
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. object — to protest
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. object — an aim
  21. face — to point toward
  22. roll — a list
  23. hand — in cards
  24. cell — a phone

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