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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 116 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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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. land — to come down
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. land — a country
  6. stem — to come from
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. board — to get on
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. fine — all right
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. land — ground
  16. snap — to click
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. board — a committee
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. sharp — clever
  21. bark — to shout
  22. fine — high quality
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. sharp — with an edge

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