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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — for paper
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. sharp — clever
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. bark — to shout
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. clip — a video
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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