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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: lash · file · rule · mine · chest · sharp · bark · plane

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. sharp — clever
  7. rule — a law
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. file — a line of people
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. rule — government
  12. chest — a box
  13. file — a tool
  14. chest — of your body
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. bark — to shout
  17. chest — of your body
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. plane — a tool
  21. file — a document
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — an explosive

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