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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 120 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
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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: lash · mine · bark · mate · hand · file · stand · spell

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  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. hand — in cards
  3. stand — to bear
  4. mate — a friend
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. mate — to breed
  8. mate — a partner
  9. spell — letters
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. file — a document
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. file — a line of people
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. file — a tool
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. spell — a short time
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. spell — magic
  22. hand — help
  23. bark — to shout
  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