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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: straw · mouse · spell · fan · degree · rush · bark · foot

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. degree — temperature
  7. rush — hurry
  8. spell — a short time
  9. bark — to shout
  10. degree — from a university
  11. spell — letters
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. foot — a measure
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. degree — an amount
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. spell — magic
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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