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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. spell — letters
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. snap — to click
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. pop — to visit
  13. spell — magic
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. pop — soda
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. spell — a short time
  20. rule — government
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. rule — a law
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. plane — a tool

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