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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
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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: spring · lean · cold · bark · wound · wax · firm · racket

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. lean — to bend
  4. bark — to shout
  5. firm — a company
  6. lean — thin
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. firm — decided
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. spring — of water
  11. wax — to grow
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — an illness
  14. wound — an injury
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — the season
  21. firm — steady
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. wound — an injury

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