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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: cell · bowl · fan · chest · arm · spell · content · deal

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. chest — a box
  6. content — happy
  7. spell — letters
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. deal — to handle
  13. cell — a phone
  14. content — the amount
  15. spell — a short time
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. cell — in biology
  21. spell — magic
  22. chest — of your body
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. arm — part of the body

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