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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: band · lean · court · bark · rush · mine · rest · chest

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. lean — to bend
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. rush — hurry
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of law
  10. court — of a king
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. chest — of your body
  13. band — a music group
  14. chest — a box
  15. band — a ring
  16. lean — thin
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bark — to shout
  20. rest — a break
  21. mine — for digging
  22. rest — what's left
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. rest — what's left

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