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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: lie · wind · coach · pop · bark · rash · mouse · hand

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. bark — to shout
  4. hand — help
  5. rash — hasty
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. pop — music
  10. pop — soda
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pop — to visit
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — in cards
  16. wind — moving air
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. rash — a series
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. lie — to recline
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. wind — to turn a key

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