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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. band — a ring
  4. mug — a face
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mug — a cup
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. race — a contest
  10. band — a music group
  11. chair — a leader
  12. bark — to shout
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. race — the arms race
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. race — humankind
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. mug — to rob
  21. mine — for digging
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. pitcher — a jug

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