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

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. stem — to come from
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — not warm
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. bark — to shout
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. current — happening now
  14. current — electric
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. fine — all right
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. fine — high quality
  19. current — of water
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. cold — the Cold War

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