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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. root — of a word
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. cold — not warm
  8. saw — the tool
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. club — a group
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. root — the cause
  16. wake — a trail
  17. cold — an illness
  18. club — for golf
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. root — of a plant
  21. bark — to shout
  22. saw — the tool
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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