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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. snap — to click
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. bass — low music
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. chest — of your body
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cap — a hat
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. cap — a lid
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. bass — the fish
  20. bark — to shout
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. patient — a sick person

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