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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. ball — a great time
  3. land — a country
  4. land — to come down
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. suit — to fit
  7. drill — a practice
  8. pound — a weight
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. drill — army training
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. file — a line of people
  15. land — ground
  16. suit — in cards
  17. bark — to shout
  18. suit — clothes
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. ball — a dance
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. file — a tool
  23. drill — the tool
  24. file — a document

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