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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: game · wound · firm · cell · roll · stem · date · spell

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. wound — an injury
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cell — in biology
  5. spell — letters
  6. firm — a company
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. firm — steady
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. wound — an injury
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. firm — decided
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. game — a match
  16. roll — a cake
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. spell — a short time
  20. spell — magic
  21. game — wild animals
  22. date — the fruit
  23. roll — a list
  24. stem — a stem cell

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