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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
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 · spell · cue · land · capital · lash · date · prune

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. spell — magic
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. cue — a signal
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. spell — letters
  8. bark — to shout
  9. prune — to trim
  10. date — the fruit
  11. land — ground
  12. cue — a hint
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — money
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. spell — a short time
  19. land — a country
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. cue — for pool
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. lash — to lash out

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