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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: nail · spring · bark · chair · lean · march · plane · straw

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. chair — a leader
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. march — the month
  6. lean — to bend
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. lean — thin
  10. spring — a coil
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. spring — of water
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. march — music
  18. bark — to shout
  19. march — the month
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. spring — the season
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. chair — a professorship

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