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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 120 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: hand · bound · kick · bark · rash · perch · spell · staff

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. hand — help
  3. spell — magic
  4. rash — a series
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. staff — employees
  7. staff — employees
  8. bark — to shout
  9. rash — hasty
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. spell — a short time
  13. spell — letters
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. staff — a stick
  16. kick — in football
  17. bound — certain
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bound — tied together
  20. perch — the fish
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. hand — in cards

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