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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. cold — not warm
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. track — to keep track
  5. cold — an illness
  6. track — a song
  7. spell — a short time
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. spell — letters
  11. track — a path
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. bound — tied together
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. bark — to shout
  16. bound — certain
  17. bound — obliged
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. bear — the animal
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. bear — the animal
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. cold — the Cold War

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