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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: wake · staff · bark · last · spring · squash · face · rush

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. staff — employees
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. staff — a stick
  5. spring — the season
  6. last — final
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. rush — hurry
  9. face — to confront
  10. last — finally
  11. face — to point toward
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. squash — to crush
  15. squash — the sport
  16. spring — of water
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. staff — employees
  21. wake — a trail
  22. face — part of the head
  23. spring — a coil
  24. last — to go on

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