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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: wound · stock · bark · firm · spring · chest · spell · bear

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. spell — a short time
  3. spell — magic
  4. chest — of your body
  5. spring — the season
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. firm — steady
  8. chest — a box
  9. spell — letters
  10. spring — of water
  11. stock — shares
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. stock — goods
  15. firm — decided
  16. spring — a coil
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bear — the animal
  22. chest — of your body
  23. firm — a company
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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