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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: bat · plane · safe · cold · branch · cell · deal · spell

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. branch — a division
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. spell — letters
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. bat — the animal
  11. spell — a short time
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — an illness
  16. spell — magic
  17. deal — to handle
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. plane — a tool
  23. cell — in biology
  24. bat — for baseball

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