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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. wind — moving air
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. dip — to sink
  5. rush — hurry
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. wound — an injury
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bark — to shout
  13. hand — in cards
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bear — the animal
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. wind — moving air
  20. hand — help
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. bear — the animal

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