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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 116 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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. pop — music
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. spell — a short time
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. pop — soda
  7. field — farmland
  8. last — final
  9. spell — letters
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. last — to go on
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. spell — magic
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. field — a subject
  20. pop — to visit
  21. last — finally
  22. deal — to handle
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. field — for sport

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