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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.

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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. snap — to click
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. bound — certain
  7. bound — obliged
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. mine — for digging
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. rule — a law
  14. rule — government
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. bound — tied together
  17. bark — to shout
  18. rule — to rule out

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