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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bound — certain
  4. spring — of water
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. bound — obliged
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. last — final
  15. spring — the season
  16. rule — government
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — finally
  19. bark — to shout
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. rule — a law
  24. lash — to lash out

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