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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. wake — a trail
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. date — the fruit
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. bark — to shout
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. spell — a short time
  17. spell — magic
  18. game — a match
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. chair — a leader
  21. game — wild animals
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. branch — a division

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