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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 116 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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. mate — a partner
  3. net — after costs
  4. bark — to shout
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. mate — to breed
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. bat — the animal
  10. mark — a grade
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. clip — to cut
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. clip — for paper
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. mark — a trace
  19. clip — a video
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — for catching
  24. mate — a friend

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