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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. suit — in cards
  4. bark — to shout
  5. suit — clothes
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. chip — for betting
  8. tear — to rip
  9. spring — the season
  10. suit — to fit
  11. rash — hasty
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. spring — a coil
  14. rash — a series
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. spell — a short time
  19. tear — from crying
  20. chip — to eat
  21. spring — of water
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cell — a phone
  24. spell — magic

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