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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 116 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: spring · bark · swing · object · ground · wind · leaves · mate

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. object — an aim
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. spring — the season
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. object — a thing
  8. ground — crushed
  9. mate — to breed
  10. bark — to shout
  11. ground — a position
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. wind — moving air
  14. mate — a friend
  15. wind — moving air
  16. mate — a partner
  17. swing — music
  18. swing — to play on
  19. swing — in golf
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. ground — the earth
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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