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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 116 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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. cell — in biology
  4. hand — help
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. firm — decided
  8. cell — a phone
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. firm — steady
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — for digging
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. firm — a company
  17. bark — to shout
  18. hand — in cards
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. sharp — clever
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. hand — part of the body

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