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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 teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. shower — rain
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bark — to shout
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. shower — to wash
  13. game — wild animals
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. roll — a cake
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. wax — to grow
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. game — a match
  24. wind — moving air

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