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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. saw — the tool
  3. snap — to click
  4. race — the arms race
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cue — for pool
  9. cue — a signal
  10. bass — low music
  11. bark — to shout
  12. race — humankind
  13. board — to get on
  14. cue — a hint
  15. bass — the fish
  16. race — a contest
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. board — a committee
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. cold — the Cold War

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