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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.

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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. charge — a price
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. spell — letters
  5. rest — a break
  6. charge — in control
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. rest — what's left
  10. bark — to shout
  11. spell — magic
  12. kid — child
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. charge — electricity
  15. row — to paddle
  16. rest — what's left
  17. spell — a short time
  18. row — a line

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