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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. rock — music
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. object — an aim
  7. spell — a short time
  8. rock — a stone
  9. pass — a permit
  10. object — a thing
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — help
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. rest — what's left
  16. spell — magic
  17. rest — what's left
  18. object — to protest
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. bark — to shout
  21. spell — letters
  22. rest — a break
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. pass — to spend time

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