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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. deal — to handle
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. ground — the earth
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. face — part of the head
  9. dip — to sink
  10. ground — a position
  11. clip — a video
  12. swing — in golf
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. ground — crushed
  15. face — to confront
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bark — to shout
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. swing — to play on
  21. swing — music
  22. face — to point toward
  23. clip — for paper
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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