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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: wave · bark · saw · net · stick · cold · key · lash

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. net — for catching
  5. saw — the tool
  6. cold — not warm
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. net — in sport
  10. saw — the tool
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. cold — an illness
  17. key — for a lock
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. key — in music
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. key — the most important part
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. bark — to shout

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