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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: cell · deal · craft · spell · cold · ground · wound · march

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. ground — the earth
  3. craft — a skill
  4. march — music
  5. deal — to handle
  6. wound — an injury
  7. craft — boats
  8. spell — letters
  9. spell — magic
  10. ground — a position
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — an illness
  18. wound — an injury
  19. march — the month
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cell — in biology
  22. spell — a short time
  23. ground — crushed
  24. deal — a big deal

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