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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: coach · racket · season · lean · drill · spell · ball · bark

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. lean — to bend
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. season — of the year
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. ball — a great time
  10. spell — magic
  11. drill — army training
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. drill — a practice
  16. ball — a dance
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. lean — thin
  19. bark — to shout
  20. season — in sport
  21. drill — the tool
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. spell — a short time
  24. spell — letters

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