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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: bark · swing · fan · tube · spring · coach · wind · bear

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. spring — the season
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. swing — music
  7. bear — the animal
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. swing — to play on
  10. wind — moving air
  11. tube — a container
  12. bear — the animal
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. spring — of water
  15. tube — the underground
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. wind — moving air
  18. swing — in golf
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. spring — a coil
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. wind — to turn a key

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