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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 116 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: stem · rash · spell · fork · cell · court · band · kick

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. spell — letters
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rash — a series
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. spell — a short time
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. spell — magic
  10. band — a ring
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. court — for sport
  13. court — of law
  14. fork — in a road
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — to come from
  17. kick — in football
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. band — a music group
  20. court — of a king
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. cell — in biology

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