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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. cell — a phone
  4. bulb — for light
  5. game — a match
  6. game — wild animals
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cell — in biology
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. snap — to click
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bark — to shout
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. bulb — for light
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. bark — of a tree

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