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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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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 · wind · racket · spring · rest · tear · bark · firm

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. spell — magic
  3. firm — decided
  4. rest — a break
  5. spell — letters
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. firm — a company
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — the season
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wind — moving air
  13. tear — from crying
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. spell — a short time
  16. tear — to rip
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bark — to shout
  22. rest — what's left
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — to turn a key

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