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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 · degree · wound · lash · track · wave · cue · snap

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. snap — to click
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. track — a path
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. cue — a signal
  8. degree — from a university
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. cue — for pool
  11. bark — to shout
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. wound — an injury
  14. track — to keep track
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. track — a song
  20. degree — an amount
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. cue — a hint
  24. degree — temperature

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