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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: field · chair · cabinet · wind · scale · bark · lash · spell

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. field — farmland
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. scale — in music
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. spell — a short time
  10. bark — to shout
  11. spell — magic
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. chair — a leader
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. scale — size or range
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. field — a subject
  21. wind — moving air
  22. field — for sport
  23. spell — letters
  24. wind — moving air

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