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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. race — humankind
  3. lie — to recline
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. shower — to wash
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. hand — in cards
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. court — for sport
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. race — a contest
  12. shower — rain
  13. bulb — for light
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. bark — to shout
  16. court — of a king
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. bulb — for light
  20. race — the arms race
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. court — of law

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