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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 116 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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. clip — a video
  6. fall — to drop
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. spring — a coil
  9. stand — to bear
  10. spring — the season
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. rush — hurry
  13. fall — to drop
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bark — to shout
  19. hand — help
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. clip — to cut
  23. hand — in cards
  24. spring — of water

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