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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 116 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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. spell — letters
  3. spell — magic
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. bear — the animal
  6. field — a subject
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. field — farmland
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. bark — to shout
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. spell — a short time
  20. row — to paddle
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. field — for sport
  23. row — a line
  24. mine — belonging to me

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