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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. spell — letters
  3. rock — music
  4. rock — a stone
  5. shower — to wash
  6. shower — rain
  7. spell — magic
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bark — to shout
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. spell — a short time
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. bulb — for light
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. lean — thin
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. stand — to bear
  22. lean — to bend
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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