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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: swing · hand · tube · current · bear · bark · game · spell

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. current — of water
  4. game — a match
  5. current — happening now
  6. game — wild animals
  7. spell — letters
  8. spell — magic
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. spell — a short time
  12. swing — to play on
  13. hand — help
  14. tube — a container
  15. hand — in cards
  16. current — electric
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. tube — the underground
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. swing — music
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. swing — in golf
  24. bear — 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