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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: present · firm · track · spell · bowl · cell · date · cold

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. date — the fruit
  3. firm — a company
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. firm — decided
  6. track — a path
  7. spell — magic
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. present — a gift
  10. cold — not warm
  11. firm — steady
  12. present — the time now
  13. track — to keep track
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. cell — a phone
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. present — there
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. track — a song
  20. spell — a short time
  21. cold — an illness
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — in a prison

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