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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 120 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: cabinet · bark · wind · chair · prune · suit · chest · spring

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chair — a leader
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. bark — to shout
  13. chest — a box
  14. wind — moving air
  15. suit — to fit
  16. suit — in cards
  17. spring — of water
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. suit — clothes
  23. spring — the season
  24. spring — a coil

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