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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. chest — of your body
  3. can — to be able to
  4. band — a ring
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. roll — a list
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. spring — a coil
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. chest — a box
  12. roll — a cake
  13. band — a music group
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. bark — to shout
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. spring — of water
  19. chest — of your body
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. spring — the season
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. can — a tin
  24. can — a tin

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