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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. spell — letters
  6. game — wild animals
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. game — a match
  9. bank — of a river
  10. bark — to shout
  11. spell — a short time
  12. kid — to tease
  13. stand — to bear
  14. current — electric
  15. spell — magic
  16. current — of water
  17. kid — child
  18. bank — for money
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. swing — in golf
  22. swing — music
  23. current — happening now
  24. bank — for money

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