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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. mark — a trace
  3. swing — music
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. chest — of your body
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. field — farmland
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. chest — of your body
  10. swing — to play on
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. mark — a grade
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. field — for sport
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. swing — in golf
  18. field — a subject
  19. board — to get on
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. bark — to shout
  22. chest — a box
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. board — a committee

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