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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: game · club · spring · drill · current · bark · cabinet · lean

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. drill — a practice
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. lean — to bend
  5. club — for dancing
  6. spring — of water
  7. drill — army training
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. current — of water
  10. drill — the tool
  11. game — a match
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. club — a group
  17. current — electric
  18. spring — a coil
  19. game — wild animals
  20. current — happening now
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. spring — the season
  23. club — for golf
  24. lean — thin

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