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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 116 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: ball · rash · firm · bark · mine · lie · wind · spell

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rash — a series
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. ball — a dance
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. spell — letters
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. spell — magic
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. wind — moving air
  13. spell — a short time
  14. firm — a company
  15. ball — a great time
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. lie — to recline
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. firm — steady
  22. mine — for digging
  23. bark — to shout
  24. firm — decided

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