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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.

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: mine · bat · spell · wave · tear · bark · season · mug

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. tear — from crying
  3. spell — letters
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. tear — to rip
  6. bark — to shout
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. season — of the year
  9. mug — a cup
  10. mug — a face
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. mug — to rob
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. spell — a short time
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. spell — magic
  23. season — in sport
  24. bat — the animal

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