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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fine — high quality
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. bound — certain
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. fine — all right
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. hand — help
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bound — tied together
  18. rock — a stone
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. ball — a great time
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. ball — a dance
  24. hand — in cards

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