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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. shower — to wash
  3. row — a line
  4. shower — rain
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. row — to paddle
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. wound — an injury
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. plane — a tool
  19. bark — to shout
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. deal — to handle
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. cabinet — ministers

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