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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. swing — in golf
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bulb — for light
  7. firm — steady
  8. firm — decided
  9. track — to keep track
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. firm — a company
  12. cold — not warm
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. track — a path
  15. bark — to shout
  16. cold — an illness
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. game — a match
  19. swing — music
  20. track — a song
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. swing — to play 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