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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. rash — hasty
  5. cue — a signal
  6. fork — in a road
  7. hand — help
  8. rash — a series
  9. wound — an injury
  10. hand — in cards
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bark — to shout
  13. mug — to rob
  14. spring — of water
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. cue — a hint
  17. cue — for pool
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. mug — a cup
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. mug — a face
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. spring — the season

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