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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: last · staff · bark · scale · land · spell · coach · rash

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. land — ground
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. spell — letters
  5. rash — hasty
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. spell — magic
  8. spell — a short time
  9. last — finally
  10. land — a country
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. last — to go on
  14. last — final
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — employees
  19. scale — in music
  20. land — to come down
  21. bark — to shout
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. scale — size or range
  24. rash — a series

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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