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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. scale — size or range
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. spell — magic
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. spell — a short time
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. ball — a great time
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. saw — the tool
  15. ball — a dance
  16. scale — in music
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. spell — letters
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. stock — goods
  21. fork — in a road
  22. stock — shares
  23. saw — the tool
  24. fork — a garden tool

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