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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. snap — to click
  3. wake — a trail
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bass — low music
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. spell — a short time
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. bark — to shout
  11. spell — magic
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. spell — letters
  15. club — a group
  16. bass — the fish
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. prune — to trim
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. club — for golf

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