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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. cold — not warm
  3. march — music
  4. march — the month
  5. pop — soda
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. mate — a partner
  9. cold — an illness
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. mate — a friend
  13. mate — to breed
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. bark — to shout
  18. ground — crushed
  19. march — the month
  20. ground — a position
  21. ground — the earth
  22. pop — music
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. pop — to visit

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