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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. kid — child
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. stem — to come from
  7. mate — a partner
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. mate — a friend
  13. mate — to breed
  14. bark — to shout
  15. spell — magic
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. foot — a measure
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. spell — a short time

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