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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. mate — a friend
  4. scale — in music
  5. chest — of your body
  6. cell — a phone
  7. chest — of your body
  8. stock — goods
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. mate — to breed
  15. chest — a box
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. stock — shares
  19. mate — a partner
  20. scale — size or range
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. cell — in biology
  24. bowl — to roll

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