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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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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. spell — letters
  6. branch — a division
  7. tube — the underground
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. tube — a container
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. spell — a short time
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. dip — to sink
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. spell — magic
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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