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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: last · spell · bulb · root · bark · sharp · rule · swing

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. rule — a law
  3. last — to go on
  4. sharp — clever
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. swing — to play on
  7. root — the cause
  8. spell — magic
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. spell — letters
  12. rule — government
  13. spell — a short time
  14. swing — music
  15. root — of a plant
  16. swing — in golf
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bark — to shout
  20. root — of a word
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. last — final
  24. last — finally

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