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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 120 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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. stand — to bear
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. chip — to eat
  6. field — farmland
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. spell — a short time
  9. spell — letters
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. field — a subject
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tear — from crying
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. bark — to shout
  17. sharp — clever
  18. field — for sport
  19. tear — from crying
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chip — for betting
  24. bark — of a tree

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