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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: bark · hand · plane · press · perch · mine · game · spell

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. hand — help
  4. mine — for digging
  5. perch — the fish
  6. game — a match
  7. bark — to shout
  8. press — newspapers
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — wild animals
  11. spell — a short time
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. press — to push
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. spell — magic
  20. spell — letters
  21. hand — in cards
  22. press — a publisher
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. plane — a tool

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