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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. spell — a short time
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. court — of law
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. race — humankind
  9. suit — in cards
  10. spring — a coil
  11. suit — to fit
  12. race — a contest
  13. band — a ring
  14. spring — of water
  15. spring — the season
  16. bark — to shout
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. spell — letters
  19. court — for sport
  20. race — the arms race
  21. suit — clothes
  22. court — of a king
  23. band — a music group
  24. bark — of a tree

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