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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. file — a tool
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. bark — to shout
  6. spell — letters
  7. content — happy
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. spell — a short time
  10. squash — the sport
  11. file — a document
  12. squash — to crush
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bank — of a river
  15. bank — for money
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. file — a line of people
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. bank — for money
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. chair — a leader
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. content — the amount

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