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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: pop · bore · file · chair · bark · lean · dip · court

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. file — a line of people
  6. pop — to visit
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. bark — to shout
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. lean — to bend
  11. court — of a king
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. file — a tool
  14. court — for sport
  15. bore — to drill
  16. court — of law
  17. pop — soda
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bore — to tire
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. file — a document
  22. lean — thin
  23. dip — to sink
  24. pop — music

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