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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: spell · cell · pit · kid · land · mouse · leaves · spring

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. land — a country
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. spring — the season
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. land — to come down
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. spell — magic
  10. land — ground
  11. cell — in biology
  12. kid — child
  13. cell — a phone
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. spring — of water
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. kid — to tease
  18. pit — in a race
  19. spring — a coil
  20. pit — a hole
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. spell — a short time
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. mouse — for a computer

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