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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: date · game · race · bark · spell · drill · hand · charge

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. spell — letters
  4. charge — in control
  5. race — humankind
  6. drill — a practice
  7. bark — to shout
  8. game — wild animals
  9. race — the arms race
  10. charge — a price
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — army training
  14. hand — help
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. race — a contest
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. game — a match
  20. spell — a short time
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. date — the fruit
  24. charge — electricity

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