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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 120 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. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. suit — in cards
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. wound — an injury
  9. chip — to eat
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — letters
  12. bark — to shout
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. chip — for betting
  15. stem — to come from
  16. suit — to fit
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. row — a line
  21. stand — to bear
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. row — to paddle
  24. spell — a short time

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