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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 116 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: bark · cue · spell · bass · last · straw · cabinet · rule

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. last — to go on
  4. rule — a law
  5. cue — a signal
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. spell — magic
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. bark — to shout
  11. cue — for pool
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. bass — low music
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. cue — a hint
  16. last — final
  17. spell — letters
  18. rule — government
  19. spell — a short time
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. bass — the fish
  22. last — finally
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. bass — the instrument

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