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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. cold — not warm
  3. saw — the tool
  4. bark — to shout
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. degree — from a university
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bound — certain
  11. degree — temperature
  12. club — a group
  13. band — a ring
  14. degree — an amount
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. bound — obliged
  18. club — for golf
  19. band — a music group
  20. club — for dancing
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. saw — the tool
  23. bound — tied together
  24. lash — to lash out

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