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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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Word bank
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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: board · bark · lash · fan · roll · wake · bat · pop

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. board — to get on
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. board — a committee
  7. roll — a cake
  8. pop — soda
  9. roll — a list
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. pop — music
  12. pop — to visit
  13. bat — the animal
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bark — to shout
  23. wake — a trail
  24. bat — in an idiom

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