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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.

Make a worksheet

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: current · spring · bark · rest · leaves · face · chair · row

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. face — to confront
  4. row — a line
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. rest — a break
  7. spring — a coil
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. face — to point toward
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. current — electric
  13. current — happening now
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. face — part of the head
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. chair — a leader
  18. bark — to shout
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — of water
  21. rest — what's left
  22. row — to paddle
  23. rest — what's left
  24. current — of water

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