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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: sharp · pound · lash · clip · bear · game · rash · bark

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bark — to shout
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. sharp — clever
  10. bear — the animal
  11. pound — a weight
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. rash — a series
  14. clip — a video
  15. rash — hasty
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. clip — for paper
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. game — a match
  21. clip — to cut
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. game — wild animals
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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