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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: court · band · dip · bark · spring · lean · wake · charge

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. spring — a coil
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. court — for sport
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. charge — electricity
  7. lean — thin
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. court — of law
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. bark — to shout
  13. court — of a king
  14. spring — of water
  15. charge — a price
  16. charge — in control
  17. dip — to sink
  18. band — a ring
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. band — a music group
  23. spring — the season
  24. wake — a trail

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