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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 120 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: bark · ball · staff · bear · row · lash · chair · band

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. chair — a leader
  11. bear — the animal
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. bark — to shout
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. staff — employees
  16. band — a ring
  17. staff — employees
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. staff — a stick
  20. ball — a great time
  21. row — a line
  22. ball — a dance
  23. band — a music group
  24. row — to paddle

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