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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. bark — to shout
  5. row — to paddle
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. game — a match
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. row — a line
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. mate — a friend
  15. game — wild animals
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. stem — to come from
  18. mate — a partner
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. mate — to breed
  22. chair — a leader
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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