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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mark · band · leaves · spring · coach · wake · bark · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. band — a ring
  4. mark — a trace
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. band — a music group
  11. spring — of water
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. kid — child
  14. wake — a trail
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — a coil
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. mark — a grade
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. bark — to shout
  24. band — a rubber band

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