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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. rash — hasty
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. kid — child
  6. swing — to play on
  7. spell — letters
  8. rash — a series
  9. kid — to tease
  10. spell — a short time
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. bark — to shout
  14. spell — magic
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chair — a leader
  18. swing — music
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. wind — moving air
  21. swing — in golf
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. leaves — to go away

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