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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 116 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: fork · fall · bark · mug · band · rush · spell · wound

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. spell — a short time
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. mug — a cup
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. bark — to shout
  9. wound — an injury
  10. fall — to drop
  11. rush — hurry
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fork — in a road
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. wound — an injury
  16. spell — letters
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. mug — to rob
  19. mug — a face
  20. spell — magic
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. band — a music group
  23. fall — the season
  24. fork — to eat with

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