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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: bark · coach · hand · swing · bulb · game · charge · spring

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bark — to shout
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. hand — help
  8. swing — to play on
  9. swing — in golf
  10. spring — a coil
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. spring — of water
  13. bulb — for light
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. charge — in control
  16. charge — electricity
  17. swing — music
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. hand — in cards
  20. game — a match
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. charge — a price
  23. spring — the season
  24. game — wild animals

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