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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. current — of water
  3. bark — to shout
  4. chair — a leader
  5. band — a music group
  6. current — electric
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. key — the most important part
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. key — for a lock
  14. net — for catching
  15. current — happening now
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. net — in sport
  19. band — a ring
  20. net — after costs
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. key — in music
  24. straw — dry grass

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