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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. mark — a grade
  3. chest — of your body
  4. roll — a list
  5. mark — a trace
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bulb — for light
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. bark — to shout
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chip — to eat
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — help
  16. chest — a box
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. bulb — for light
  20. chip — for betting
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. roll — a cake
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. chip — in a computer

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