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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.

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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: lean · racket · spell · bark · squash · cabinet · tear · cell

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. spell — letters
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. tear — to rip
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. spell — magic
  8. lean — to bend
  9. squash — the sport
  10. bark — to shout
  11. squash — to crush
  12. lean — thin
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. cell — in biology
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. cell — a phone

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