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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. spell — a short time
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. rock — a stone
  10. rock — music
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. rash — a series
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. bark — to shout
  18. scale — in music
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. rash — hasty
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. spell — magic
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — for weighing

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