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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: sharp · spring · scale · bear · spell · court · dip · cell

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. bear — the animal
  3. spell — letters
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. spell — magic
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. cell — in biology
  9. cell — a phone
  10. spell — a short time
  11. dip — to sink
  12. spring — a coil
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. court — of law
  16. scale — in music
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. bear — the animal
  19. scale — size or range
  20. court — of a king
  21. sharp — clever
  22. court — for sport
  23. spring — the season
  24. spring — of water

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