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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. spell — a short time
  3. hand — in cards
  4. bark — to shout
  5. saw — the tool
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. pop — soda
  12. saw — the tool
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. spell — letters
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. pop — music
  20. dip — to sink
  21. spell — magic
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. dip — a sauce

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