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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: spell · chair · rock · court · wind · bark · wake · hand

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. wind — moving air
  3. chair — a leader
  4. rock — a stone
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bark — to shout
  8. spell — letters
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. wake — a trail
  11. court — of law
  12. court — of a king
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. spell — magic
  16. court — for sport
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. hand — in cards
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. rock — music
  22. spell — a short time
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. hand — part of the body

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