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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 · plane · fork · game · bark · row · bay · cell

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  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. row — a line
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. fork — in a road
  10. game — a match
  11. row — to paddle
  12. bark — to shout
  13. game — wild animals
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. spell — a short time
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. spell — letters
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. plane — a tool
  22. spell — magic
  23. cell — a phone
  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