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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 · bore · plane · rush · game · bark · content · press

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. rush — hurry
  3. bore — to tire
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. plane — a tool
  6. press — a publisher
  7. spell — a short time
  8. spell — magic
  9. spell — letters
  10. game — wild animals
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. game — a match
  13. press — newspapers
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. press — to push
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bore — to drill
  18. content — happy
  19. content — the amount
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. rush — a thrill

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