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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 116 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. spell — letters
  3. lean — to bend
  4. bark — to shout
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. field — a subject
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. field — farmland
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. bound — tied together
  11. sharp — clever
  12. bound — obliged
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. field — for sport
  16. spell — magic
  17. lean — thin
  18. bound — certain
  19. spell — a short time
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. lean — to rest against

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