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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 · bear · bark · wind · racket · snap · press · bowl

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. spell — letters
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. snap — to click
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. press — a publisher
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. bark — to shout
  12. wind — moving air
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. spell — a short time
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. bear — the animal
  19. press — to push
  20. spell — magic
  21. press — newspapers
  22. bear — the animal
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. bowl — to roll

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