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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. staff — employees
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bark — to shout
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. plane — a tool
  8. season — in sport
  9. board — a committee
  10. season — of the year
  11. hand — in cards
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — magic
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. wound — an injury
  19. staff — a stick
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. hand — help
  22. spell — a short time
  23. board — to get on
  24. staff — employees

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