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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 · swing · roll · rush · board · calf · lean · spring

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. swing — to play on
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. lean — to bend
  6. spring — a coil
  7. roll — a cake
  8. board — to get on
  9. swing — music
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. spring — of water
  12. roll — a list
  13. spring — the season
  14. board — a committee
  15. bark — to shout
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. lean — thin
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. swing — in golf

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