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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 · mine · bat · chest · firm · last · roll · fine

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. spell — magic
  3. chest — a box
  4. fine — all right
  5. last — to go on
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. firm — a company
  9. spell — a short time
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. last — final
  12. fine — high quality
  13. bat — the animal
  14. firm — steady
  15. firm — decided
  16. roll — a cake
  17. last — finally
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. chest — of your body
  20. spell — letters
  21. mine — for digging
  22. chest — of your body
  23. roll — a list
  24. mine — belonging to me

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