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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 120 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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. firm — decided
  3. chest — a box
  4. chest — of your body
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. tube — the underground
  8. tube — a container
  9. cue — a hint
  10. cue — a signal
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. band — a music group
  16. firm — steady
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cue — for pool
  20. firm — a company
  21. cold — not warm
  22. band — a ring
  23. chest — of your body
  24. lash — an eyelash

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