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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. plane — a tool
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. staff — a stick
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. hand — in cards
  9. hand — help
  10. spell — a short time
  11. bark — to shout
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. spell — magic
  14. track — a path
  15. spell — letters
  16. track — to keep track
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. staff — employees
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. staff — employees
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. hand — part of the body

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