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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. roll — a list
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. clip — for paper
  6. present — the time now
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. bark — to shout
  11. shower — to wash
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. spell — letters
  14. pound — a weight
  15. clip — a video
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. spell — magic
  18. present — a gift
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. roll — a cake
  21. clip — to cut
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. present — there
  24. shower — rain

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