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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. tube — a container
  5. wound — an injury
  6. charge — a price
  7. wind — moving air
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. wound — an injury
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. bark — to shout
  13. lean — to bend
  14. lean — thin
  15. tube — the underground
  16. season — in sport
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. charge — electricity
  19. season — of the year
  20. charge — in control
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wind — moving air

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