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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.

Make a worksheet

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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. row — a line
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. net — after costs
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. net — in sport
  8. game — wild animals
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wound — an injury
  11. net — for catching
  12. perch — the fish
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. mug — a face
  15. bark — to shout
  16. row — to paddle
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. game — a match
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. mug — a cup

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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