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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. 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. pop — soda
  2. present — there
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. file — a document
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. file — a line of people
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. present — the time now
  11. pop — to visit
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. pop — music
  14. snap — to click
  15. file — a tool
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. cell — in biology
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. present — a gift
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. cell — a phone
  24. 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