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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: spell · swing · bowl · wind · bark · rest

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. spell — magic
  5. rest — a break
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. spell — letters
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. spell — a short time
  10. swing — to play on
  11. swing — music
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bark — to shout
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. rest — what's left
  17. swing — in golf
  18. rest — what's left

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