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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 · court · bound · spell · land · drill · face · cap

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. land — to come down
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cap — a lid
  5. face — to confront
  6. drill — army training
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. cap — of ice
  9. face — part of the head
  10. drill — the tool
  11. face — to point toward
  12. bark — to shout
  13. court — of law
  14. bound — certain
  15. land — ground
  16. spell — magic
  17. court — for sport
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. spell — letters
  20. court — of a king
  21. drill — a practice
  22. bound — tied together
  23. bound — obliged
  24. land — a country

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