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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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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 · bark · club · fall · firm · wake · content · race

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. club — a group
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. firm — a company
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. race — humankind
  8. firm — steady
  9. content — happy
  10. fall — the season
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. club — for golf
  15. wake — a trail
  16. spell — letters
  17. spell — a short time
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. race — the arms race
  20. content — the amount
  21. bark — to shout
  22. firm — decided
  23. club — for dancing
  24. race — a contest

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