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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. craft — a skill
  4. cold — not warm
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. cold — an illness
  12. craft — boats
  13. lean — to bend
  14. mine — for digging
  15. ground — a position
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. ground — the earth
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. lean — thin
  23. bark — to shout
  24. calf — a young animal

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