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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.

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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: chair · present · saw · track · bark · spell · net · bat

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. track — to keep track
  3. saw — the tool
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. net — in sport
  6. saw — the tool
  7. spell — a short time
  8. present — the time now
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. present — a gift
  11. net — after costs
  12. bark — to shout
  13. spell — magic
  14. track — a path
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. chair — a leader
  17. bat — the animal
  18. track — a song
  19. spell — letters
  20. net — for catching
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. present — there
  24. bat — in an idiom

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