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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. rest — what's left
  8. snap — to click
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — rain
  13. bark — to shout
  14. season — in sport
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. rest — a break
  19. season — of the year
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. rest — what's left
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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