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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. spell — magic
  3. content — happy
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. spell — a short time
  8. content — the amount
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. kid — child
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. kid — to tease
  15. bark — to shout
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. spell — letters
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. stand — to bear
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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