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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. last — finally
  4. bark — to shout
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. game — a match
  7. last — final
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. last — to go on
  16. row — to paddle
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. dip — to sink
  20. foot — a measure
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. dip — a sauce

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