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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. staff — a stick
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bank — for money
  7. bank — for money
  8. spell — letters
  9. rash — a series
  10. spell — a short time
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bank — of a river
  13. staff — employees
  14. staff — employees
  15. spell — magic
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. bark — to shout

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