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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. tube — a container
  3. ball — a great time
  4. swing — to play on
  5. spell — magic
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. tube — the underground
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. rest — a break
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. ball — a dance
  14. swing — in golf
  15. rest — what's left
  16. branch — a division
  17. rest — what's left
  18. spell — a short time
  19. bark — to shout
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. swing — music
  22. spell — letters
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. ball — a round shape

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