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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. pitch — completely
  3. current — of water
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. deal — to handle
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bark — to shout
  11. spell — a short time
  12. field — farmland
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. current — electric
  15. field — for sport
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. field — a subject
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. current — happening now
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. bat — the animal
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. spell — letters
  24. pitch — a sports field

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