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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: roll · coach · pitch · bark · race · spell · content · fan

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. roll — a list
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. content — the amount
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. race — a contest
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. content — happy
  9. race — the arms race
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bark — to shout
  12. roll — a cake
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. race — humankind
  20. spell — a short time
  21. pitch — completely
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. spell — magic

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