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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 · bark · trunk · game · bat · wax · mark · bank

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. game — wild animals
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. spell — magic
  11. bank — of a river
  12. mark — a grade
  13. mark — a trace
  14. bank — for money
  15. bank — for money
  16. wax — to grow
  17. spell — a short time
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. game — a match
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bat — the animal

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