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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: capital · squash · row · bark · bay · perch · spell · cue

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. 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. spell — letters
  2. row — a line
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. cue — a signal
  5. perch — the fish
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. cue — a hint
  8. spell — a short time
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. capital — a city
  11. cue — for pool
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. bark — to shout
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. spell — magic
  18. capital — money
  19. row — to paddle
  20. squash — the sport
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. squash — to crush
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. 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