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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 · rule · mark · degree · bark · toast · cap · bat

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. rule — a law
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. cap — of ice
  8. bat — the animal
  9. cap — a hat
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bark — to shout
  12. cap — a lid
  13. toast — bread
  14. degree — temperature
  15. spell — letters
  16. mark — a trace
  17. mark — a grade
  18. degree — an amount
  19. spell — a short time
  20. degree — from a university
  21. rule — government
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. toast — the most admired

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