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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. bark — to shout
  5. capital — a city
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. kick — in football
  9. snap — to click
  10. row — a line
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. present — a gift
  13. scale — in music
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — money
  18. present — the time now
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. scale — size or range
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. present — there

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