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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. bark — to shout
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. snap — to click
  6. face — to confront
  7. kick — in football
  8. cell — in biology
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. face — part of the head
  11. cell — a phone
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bore — to drill

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