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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. cue — for pool
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. cue — a hint
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. snap — to click
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. cue — a signal
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. fork — in a road
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. sharp — clever
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. bark — to shout

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