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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bark · row · swing · mate · net · spell · lash · fan

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. net — in sport
  4. spell — letters
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. bark — to shout
  8. row — to paddle
  9. mate — a partner
  10. mate — a friend
  11. swing — to play on
  12. net — for catching
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. net — after costs
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. spell — magic
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. spell — a short time
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. swing — music
  21. row — a line
  22. swing — in golf
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. fan — to cool the air

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