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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bark — to shout
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. board — to get on
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. chest — of your body
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. club — for golf
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. cold — an illness
  14. chest — of your body
  15. fork — in a road
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. chest — a box
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. board — a committee
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. club — a group
  23. club — for dancing
  24. lash — to lash out

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