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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. kick — in football
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. pass — a permit
  7. face — to point toward
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cell — in biology
  10. bore — to tire
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. face — to confront
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. face — part of the head
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bark — to shout
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. bore — to drill
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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