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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: content · swing · lash · fork · pitcher · cap · fall · bark

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. fork — in a road
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. cap — of ice
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. fall — to drop
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. cap — a hat
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. cap — a lid
  17. content — the amount
  18. swing — in golf
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. fall — the season
  21. content — happy
  22. swing — to play on
  23. bark — to shout
  24. swing — music

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