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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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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: shower · bear · wave · kick · lean · bark · court · last

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. court — of a king
  3. lean — thin
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. shower — rain
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. kick — in football
  11. bark — to shout
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. last — final
  15. court — of law
  16. court — for sport
  17. bear — the animal
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. last — finally
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. lean — to bend
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. shower — to wash
  24. bear — the animal

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