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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. saw — the tool
  5. track — a song
  6. cold — an illness
  7. track — to keep track
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. present — a gift
  11. present — the time now
  12. chip — to eat
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. track — a path
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — to shout
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. present — there
  22. chip — for betting
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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