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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 · plane · shower · cell · lie · mark · net · spell

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. spell — letters
  4. net — for catching
  5. cell — in biology
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. lie — to recline
  9. plane — a tool
  10. mark — a trace
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. shower — to wash
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. net — in sport
  15. spell — a short time
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. bark — to shout
  19. mark — a grade
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. spell — magic
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — a phone
  24. net — after costs

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