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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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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 · rest · kick · bark · hand · field · charge · fork

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. charge — electricity
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. hand — help
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. spell — letters
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — for sport
  12. spell — magic
  13. fork — in a road
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. spell — a short time
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bark — to shout
  19. rest — a break
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. field — a subject
  22. kick — in football
  23. charge — a price
  24. charge — in control

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