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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: rule · lash · stock · swing · kid · bark · wake · root

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — child
  3. swing — to play on
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. swing — in golf
  6. stock — goods
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. bark — to shout
  13. rule — government
  14. rule — a law
  15. root — of a word
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. root — of a plant
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. stock — shares
  20. swing — music
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. wake — a trail
  24. root — the cause

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