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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. fall — to drop
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. mine — for digging
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. cold — an illness
  9. fall — the season
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. club — for golf
  12. can — a tin
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. can — a tin
  16. club — for dancing
  17. can — to be able to
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — an injury
  20. cold — not warm
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. club — a group
  23. bark — to shout
  24. fall — to drop

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