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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: current · spell · chest · spring · date · bark · lean · bore

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. chest — of your body
  4. lean — to bend
  5. spell — magic
  6. lean — thin
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. current — electric
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. spell — a short time
  11. date — the fruit
  12. spell — letters
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. spring — the season
  15. current — of water
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bore — to tire
  18. chest — a box
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. spring — a coil
  21. spring — of water
  22. bore — to drill
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. current — happening now

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