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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. spell — magic
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — to shout
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. game — a match
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. cell — in biology
  13. spell — letters
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. spell — a short time
  18. tube — a container
  19. wind — moving air
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. game — wild animals
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. cell — a phone
  24. tube — the underground

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