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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. land — to come down
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. bore — to tire
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. wind — moving air
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. land — a country
  13. stem — to come from
  14. kick — in football
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. bore — to drill
  17. wind — moving air
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. bark — to shout
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. land — ground

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