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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. spell — a short time
  3. bark — to shout
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. vault — a safe
  6. staff — employees
  7. wind — moving air
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. game — a match
  10. wind — moving air
  11. staff — a stick
  12. spell — magic
  13. date — the fruit
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. game — wild animals
  16. staff — employees
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. fork — in a road
  24. fork — a garden tool

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