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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bark · club · lash · spring · chair · tear

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. tear — from crying
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. spring — a coil
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. spring — of water
  11. tear — to rip
  12. club — for golf
  13. spring — the season
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. club — for dancing
  16. club — a group
  17. bark — to shout
  18. tear — from crying

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