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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cell · mine · bark · rash · perch · spell · swing · bore

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. rash — a series
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. spell — letters
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bore — to tire
  8. mine — for digging
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. spell — a short time
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — a phone
  13. perch — the fish
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. spell — magic
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. swing — in golf
  18. rash — hasty
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. bore — to drill
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. swing — to play on
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. cell — in biology

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