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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bore — to tire
  3. last — to go on
  4. snap — to click
  5. track — a song
  6. bound — certain
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. track — to keep track
  10. stand — to bear
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. spell — a short time
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. track — a path
  16. last — finally
  17. last — final
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bound — obliged
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bore — to drill
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. spell — magic
  24. spell — letters

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