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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. spell — letters
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cap — of ice
  7. cap — a hat
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. deal — to handle
  10. spell — a short time
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — for sport
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. bark — to shout
  16. field — a subject
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. deal — an agreement

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