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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. spell — a short time
  3. bark — to shout
  4. spell — magic
  5. march — music
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. spell — letters
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. rash — a series
  11. chip — for betting
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. branch — a division
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. march — the month
  17. chip — to eat
  18. rash — hasty

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