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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: chair · saw · cue · ground · bark · spell · spring · fan

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. chair — a leader
  3. spell — magic
  4. spell — letters
  5. spell — a short time
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. cue — a hint
  8. spring — a coil
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. cue — for pool
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. ground — a position
  15. ground — crushed
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. spring — the season
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. spring — of water
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. cue — a signal
  22. ground — the earth
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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