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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  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. bowl — a football final
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. capital — money
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. bank — of a river
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. cold — not warm
  11. lean — thin
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. lean — to bend
  14. bank — for money
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. plane — a tool
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bank — for money
  19. bark — to shout
  20. capital — a city
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  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