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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 bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. squash — to crush
  11. bass — low music
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bank — for money
  15. pound — a weight
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. cell — in biology
  18. bass — the fish
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. bank — for money
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. squash — the sport
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bank — of a river

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