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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 116 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: bulb · chair · bass · lash · bark · rush · drill · patient

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. rush — hurry
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bass — low music
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. bark — to shout
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. drill — army training
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. bulb — for light
  22. drill — a practice
  23. bass — the fish
  24. drill — the tool

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