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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bark · cell · chair · present · spell · mate

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. chair — a leader
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. spell — magic
  5. mate — a friend
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. spell — letters
  8. spell — a short time
  9. mate — to breed
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. present — there
  12. present — a gift
  13. mate — a partner
  14. cell — a phone
  15. present — the time now
  16. cell — in biology
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. bark — a dog's sound

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