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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. spell — letters
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. bark — to shout
  7. object — a thing
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. object — to protest
  12. dip — to sink
  13. saw — the tool
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kid — child
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. spell — a short time
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. plane — a tool
  21. saw — the tool
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. object — an aim

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