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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. key — for a lock
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. game — a match
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. court — of law
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. game — wild animals
  9. stem — to come from
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. spell — magic
  14. key — in music
  15. court — of a king
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. spell — a short time
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. key — the most important part
  22. court — for sport
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bark — to shout

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