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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. bass — the fish
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. bass — low music
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bear — the animal
  21. stem — to come from
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. coach — a trainer

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