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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. hand — in cards
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. hand — help
  5. race — humankind
  6. cue — a signal
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. snap — to click
  9. season — of the year
  10. cue — for pool
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. race — a contest
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. cue — a hint
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. row — to paddle
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. season — in sport
  23. race — the arms race
  24. row — a line

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