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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 120 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: calf · spell · pound · ground · bark · rest · land · fan

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. rest — a break
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. rest — what's left
  6. ground — crushed
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. spell — letters
  11. spell — magic
  12. ground — a position
  13. ground — the earth
  14. pound — a weight
  15. rest — what's left
  16. land — a country
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. spell — a short time
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. land — ground
  21. bark — to shout
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. land — to come down

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