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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.

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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: arm · present · lash · wind · pound · cold · bark · land

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. present — the time now
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wind — moving air
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. pound — a weight
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bark — to shout
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. present — there
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. cold — an illness
  18. land — ground
  19. cold — not warm
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. present — a gift
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. land — a country
  24. land — to come down

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