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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. spell — a short time
  3. stand — to bear
  4. bark — to shout
  5. band — a music group
  6. wind — moving air
  7. band — a ring
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. spell — letters
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. spell — magic
  21. wind — moving air
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. band — a rubber band

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