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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: cap · race · bat · leaves · court · bark · mine · spell

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. cap — of ice
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. court — for sport
  5. mine — for digging
  6. spell — a short time
  7. race — the arms race
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. spell — letters
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. cap — a hat
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. court — of a king
  15. bark — to shout
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. bat — the animal
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. race — a contest
  20. court — of law
  21. race — humankind
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. cap — a lid

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