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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. content — the amount
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. bark — to shout
  8. mark — a trace
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — army training
  11. swing — in golf
  12. tube — the underground
  13. spring — a coil
  14. content — happy
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. spring — the season
  17. swing — to play on
  18. spring — of water
  19. swing — music
  20. tube — a container
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. mark — a grade
  24. drill — the tool

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