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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. present — there
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. field — farmland
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. stem — to come from
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. cold — not warm
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. present — the time now
  18. field — a subject
  19. bark — to shout
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. field — for sport
  22. cold — an illness
  23. present — a gift
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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