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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. field — farmland
  3. court — for sport
  4. court — of a king
  5. bank — for money
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. rash — a series
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. bass — the fish
  11. field — for sport
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. snap — to click
  15. field — a subject
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. bass — low music
  18. rash — hasty
  19. bank — of a river
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. bank — for money
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. court — of law
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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