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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. staff — employees
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. staff — employees
  5. drill — the tool
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. march — the month
  10. march — music
  11. drill — a practice
  12. swing — to play on
  13. bark — to shout
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. wound — an injury
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. swing — music
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. march — the month
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. swing — in golf
  23. staff — a stick
  24. drill — army training

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