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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 · ground · cell · court · bass · date · chip · plane

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. chip — to eat
  3. ground — a position
  4. spell — letters
  5. court — of law
  6. bass — the fish
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. date — the fruit
  9. cell — in biology
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spell — magic
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. ground — crushed
  15. plane — a tool
  16. ground — the earth
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. chip — for betting
  19. court — of a king
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. cell — a phone
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. court — for sport
  24. plane — in geometry

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