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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: spell · face · cabinet · stick · club · field · cell · bark

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. face — to point toward
  3. face — to confront
  4. spell — a short time
  5. cell — in biology
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. club — for golf
  8. spell — letters
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. bark — to shout
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — farmland
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. face — part of the head
  17. field — for sport
  18. club — a group
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. club — for dancing
  21. cell — a phone
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. spell — magic
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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