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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: bark · track · wind · staff · spell · ground · mouse · foot

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. staff — employees
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. staff — a stick
  6. spell — letters
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — to shout
  10. track — a path
  11. track — to keep track
  12. spell — magic
  13. foot — a measure
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. staff — employees
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. wind — moving air
  20. ground — crushed
  21. ground — a position
  22. ground — the earth
  23. spell — a short time
  24. track — a song

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