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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 120 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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. bark — to shout
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. snap — to click
  5. race — humankind
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. cue — a hint
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cue — for pool
  11. pound — a weight
  12. cell — a phone
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. game — a match
  18. race — a contest
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. cue — a signal
  21. race — the arms race
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. wave — of the sea

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