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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: foot · chair · spring · bark · court · mug · race · hand

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — the season
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. race — a contest
  6. court — of a king
  7. bark — to shout
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. mug — a face
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. mug — to rob
  12. court — of law
  13. race — humankind
  14. hand — in cards
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. court — for sport
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. foot — a measure
  19. race — the arms race
  20. hand — help
  21. mug — a cup
  22. spring — of water
  23. chair — a leader
  24. foot — the bottom

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