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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 116 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
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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: wind · present · bark · deal · ball · mug · spell · clip

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. present — a gift
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. present — there
  5. deal — to handle
  6. ball — a dance
  7. wind — moving air
  8. spell — magic
  9. mug — a cup
  10. ball — a great time
  11. mug — a face
  12. present — the time now
  13. bark — to shout
  14. spell — letters
  15. clip — for paper
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. clip — a video
  19. spell — a short time
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. mug — to rob
  23. wind — moving air
  24. clip — to cut

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