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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. bark — to shout
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. season — in sport
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. cold — not warm
  9. kid — child
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. cold — an illness
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. mug — a face
  15. season — of the year
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — to tease
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. mug — to rob
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. mug — a cup
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. plane — a tool

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