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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.

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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. spell — magic
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — to shout
  6. spell — a short time
  7. cue — a signal
  8. drill — the tool
  9. cue — a hint
  10. cell — a phone
  11. firm — steady
  12. drill — a practice
  13. firm — decided
  14. firm — a company
  15. cue — for pool
  16. spell — letters
  17. drill — army training
  18. cell — in biology

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