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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. spell — letters
  6. bark — to shout
  7. pop — soda
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. file — a tool
  11. spell — magic
  12. pop — music
  13. roll — a cake
  14. craft — a skill
  15. wake — a trail
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. roll — a list
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. pop — to visit
  20. spell — a short time
  21. file — a line of people
  22. craft — boats
  23. file — a document
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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