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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 120 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 spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. staff — a stick
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bulb — for light
  7. march — music
  8. bat — the animal
  9. staff — employees
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — for digging
  13. march — the month
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. staff — employees
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. march — the month
  20. bulb — for light
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. shower — to wash
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. bark — to shout

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