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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spell — a short time
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. tear — from crying
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. can — a tin
  8. land — a country
  9. kid — child
  10. spell — letters
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. can — a tin
  14. land — ground
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. land — to come down
  20. chair — a leader
  21. bark — to shout
  22. tear — to rip
  23. can — to be able to
  24. fork — in a road

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