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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. bark — to shout
  3. cold — not warm
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. chip — to eat
  6. club — for golf
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. wake — a trail
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. snap — to click
  15. lean — to bend
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. chip — for betting
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. lean — thin
  22. dip — to sink
  23. club — a group
  24. chip — in a computer

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