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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 124 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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — rain
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. bark — to shout
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. tube — the underground
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. tube — a container
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. kick — in football
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. tube — in a tire

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