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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bark · fan · wave · cold · staff · stem · spell · tear

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. spell — letters
  3. staff — employees
  4. spell — magic
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. tear — from crying
  8. staff — a stick
  9. stem — to come from
  10. tear — to rip
  11. cold — an illness
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. staff — employees
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. tear — from crying
  23. cold — not warm
  24. bark — to shout

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