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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
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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: straw · spell · plane · bark · cue · mine · rule · spring

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. spell — magic
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spell — a short time
  7. spring — the season
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. plane — a tool
  10. mine — for digging
  11. rule — government
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. cue — a hint
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. spring — of water
  18. cue — a signal
  19. bark — to shout
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. cue — for pool
  22. spell — letters
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. rule — a law

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