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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: spell · chest · mark · roll · patient · fan · march · bark

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. spell — magic
  3. bark — to shout
  4. mark — a trace
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. march — the month
  8. spell — a short time
  9. chest — of your body
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. mark — a grade
  12. roll — a cake
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. march — music
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. chest — a box
  17. roll — a list
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. chest — of your body
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. march — the month

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