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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
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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: wind · dip · game · pitcher · bark · cap · spell · bass

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. spell — letters
  5. game — wild animals
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. game — a match
  8. bark — to shout
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — a short time
  12. cap — of ice
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. bass — low music
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bass — the fish
  17. dip — to sink
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. cap — a lid
  21. cap — a hat
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pitcher — a jug

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