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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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. sharp — exactly
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. chip — for betting
  5. snap — to click
  6. chip — to eat
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. pop — soda
  9. file — a line of people
  10. pop — to visit
  11. prune — to trim
  12. pop — music
  13. file — a tool
  14. file — a document
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bark — to shout
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wound — an injury
  24. sharp — clever

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