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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. bank — for money
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of a king
  8. pop — soda
  9. court — of law
  10. bank — of a river
  11. cell — in biology
  12. bank — for money
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. last — to go on
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cell — a phone
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. pop — music
  19. last — final
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cold — an illness
  22. last — finally
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. pop — to visit

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