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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bark — to shout
  3. mate — a friend
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bound — obliged
  10. cold — an illness
  11. wake — a trail
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. bound — tied together
  14. mate — a partner
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. snap — to click
  20. bound — certain
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. tear — from crying
  23. mate — to breed
  24. wake — before a funeral

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