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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. wake — a trail
  4. lean — to bend
  5. bark — to shout
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. bass — low music
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. spring — a coil
  14. pound — a weight
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — of water
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. lean — thin
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. bass — the fish
  24. pound — to hit hard

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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