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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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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: leaves · bark · hand · squash · charge · tube · drill · spring

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. spring — the season
  3. charge — electricity
  4. hand — help
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. tube — the underground
  7. spring — of water
  8. charge — a price
  9. tube — a container
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. charge — in control
  12. bark — to shout
  13. hand — in cards
  14. drill — the tool
  15. spring — a coil
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. drill — army training
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. drill — a practice
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. squash — the sport
  24. leaves — to go away

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