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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. fall — to drop
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. scale — size or range
  7. rush — hurry
  8. fall — the season
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bore — to drill
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bore — to tire
  17. scale — in music
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. fall — to drop
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. rush — a thrill

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