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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. spring — a coil
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bark — to shout
  7. clip — a video
  8. lean — thin
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. spring — of water
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. spell — magic
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. spring — the season
  15. spell — a short time
  16. rash — hasty
  17. clip — to cut
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. lean — to bend
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. rash — a series
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. wave — of the sea

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