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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. wound — an injury
  4. shower — to wash
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. spell — letters
  8. board — a committee
  9. wax — to grow
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. shower — rain
  15. bark — to shout
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. spell — magic
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. spell — a short time
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. board — to get on

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