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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. spring — the season
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. net — for catching
  5. cap — of ice
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. net — after costs
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. band — a ring
  10. bark — to shout
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. spring — a coil
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. net — in sport
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. cap — a lid
  18. ground — the earth
  19. spring — of water
  20. ground — a position
  21. ground — crushed
  22. dip — to sink
  23. cap — a hat
  24. band — a music group

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