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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: spring · nail · wind · chest · bay · lash · face · bark

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. face — to confront
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. spring — the season
  8. bark — to shout
  9. chest — of your body
  10. face — to point toward
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. spring — a coil
  13. chest — a box
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. face — part of the head
  22. spring — of water
  23. chest — of your body
  24. lash — to lash out

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