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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 124 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. spell — a short time
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. chip — to eat
  6. sharp — clever
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. bark — to shout
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. saw — the tool
  11. band — a music group
  12. chip — for betting
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. pound — a weight
  15. band — a ring
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. spell — magic
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. saw — the tool
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. chip — in a computer

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