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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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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: pound · stand · cell · bowl · kick · bark · lash · hand

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. cell — in biology
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. cell — a phone
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. kick — in football
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. hand — in cards
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. bark — to shout
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. pound — a weight
  22. hand — help
  23. stand — to bear
  24. stand — for spectators

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