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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. pop — music
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. pop — soda
  7. bear — the animal
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bark — to shout
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. snap — to click
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. pop — to visit
  20. cold — an illness
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bear — the animal
  24. cold — not warm

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