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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  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. row — a quarrel
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. mate — to breed
  4. row — to paddle
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. mate — a partner
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. row — a line
  9. spring — the season
  10. plane — a tool
  11. mate — a friend
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. scale — size or range
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. spring — of water
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. spring — a coil
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. scale — in music
  21. bark — to shout
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. lash — an eyelash
  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