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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. snap — to click
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. drill — army training
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. saw — the tool
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — to shout
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. drill — the tool
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. cold — not warm
  21. saw — the tool
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. drill — a practice
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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