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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. spring — a coil
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. mug — a cup
  5. roll — a cake
  6. court — for sport
  7. spring — of water
  8. roll — a list
  9. hand — in cards
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. can — a tin
  12. mug — to rob
  13. court — of a king
  14. spell — a short time
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. hand — help
  17. mug — a face
  18. spell — magic
  19. can — a tin
  20. court — of law
  21. can — to be able to
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. spring — the season
  24. spell — letters

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