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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 120 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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. track — to keep track
  4. bark — to shout
  5. content — happy
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. content — the amount
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. track — a path
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. cold — not warm
  13. dip — to sink
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. track — a song
  20. vault — a safe
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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