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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: chip · stand · bark · spring · spell · rule · cell · perch

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. rule — government
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bark — to shout
  8. spring — of water
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. spell — letters
  13. spring — the season
  14. chip — for betting
  15. chip — to eat
  16. stand — to bear
  17. perch — the fish
  18. cell — in biology
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. spell — magic
  21. rule — a law
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. cell — a phone
  24. spell — a short time

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