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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. tube — a container
  9. date — the fruit
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. snap — to click
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. bark — to shout
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. tube — the underground

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