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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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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: lean · wave · club · bark · wound · press · kid · court

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. kid — to tease
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. club — a group
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. press — a publisher
  7. lean — to bend
  8. club — for dancing
  9. club — for golf
  10. court — of a king
  11. wound — an injury
  12. press — newspapers
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. court — for sport
  17. court — of law
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. kid — child
  20. press — to push
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bark — to shout
  24. lean — thin

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