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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. spell — letters
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. spell — magic
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. race — humankind
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — to cut
  12. spell — a short time
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. tear — from crying
  17. clip — a video
  18. race — a contest
  19. tear — from crying
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. tear — to rip
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. race — the arms race

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