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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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Word bank
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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. board — a committee
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — to shout
  9. wound — an injury
  10. board — to get on
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. wound — an injury
  13. sharp — clever
  14. bear — the animal
  15. spell — a short time
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. bear — the animal
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. spell — magic

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