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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. pit — in a race
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. pit — a hole
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — for digging
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. stock — shares
  12. pound — a weight
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. stock — goods
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. pound — for dogs

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