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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. spring — the season
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. tube — a container
  5. wound — an injury
  6. spring — of water
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. wound — an injury
  12. press — a publisher
  13. fork — in a road
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. press — newspapers
  16. tube — the underground
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. spring — a coil
  19. press — to push
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. patient — a sick person

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