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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 120 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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. chest — a box
  3. ball — a great time
  4. firm — a company
  5. cell — in biology
  6. spell — a short time
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. cell — a phone
  10. firm — decided
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. court — of a king
  13. chest — of your body
  14. spell — letters
  15. ball — a dance
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. spell — magic
  19. chest — of your body
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. firm — steady
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. court — of law
  24. court — for sport

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