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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: bark · club · lash · spring · chair · tear · fan · firm

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — the season
  4. club — for golf
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. firm — decided
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. spring — a coil
  11. tear — from crying
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. tear — to rip
  15. club — for dancing
  16. firm — a company
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. club — a group
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. bark — to shout
  24. firm — steady

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