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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. spell — magic
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. fork — in a road
  5. roll — a list
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. spell — letters
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. rash — hasty
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. rash — a series
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. date — the fruit
  16. roll — a cake
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. spell — a short time
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. bark — to shout
  24. snap — to click

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