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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. bark — to shout
  11. ball — a great time
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. hand — help
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. ball — a dance
  18. patient — calm and waiting

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