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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. charge — electricity
  3. club — for golf
  4. cell — a phone
  5. snap — to click
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. cell — in biology
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. cue — for pool
  11. club — for dancing
  12. charge — a price
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cue — a hint
  15. degree — temperature
  16. club — a group
  17. vault — a safe
  18. degree — from a university
  19. cue — a signal
  20. charge — in control
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. degree — an amount
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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