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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 · content · cell · safe · cold · band · cap · bark

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cap — a hat
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. content — happy
  7. band — a ring
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bark — to shout
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. spell — magic
  13. content — the amount
  14. spell — letters
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cap — a lid
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. cell — a phone
  20. band — a music group
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cap — of ice
  24. content — videos and posts

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