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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. wax — to grow
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. pitch — completely
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — to paddle
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. season — in sport
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. wind — moving air
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. season — of the year
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wind — moving air
  22. row — a line
  23. bark — to shout
  24. pitch — a sports field

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