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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. current — happening now
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. field — for sport
  8. drill — the tool
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. drill — a practice
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. bark — to shout
  15. cell — in biology
  16. current — electric
  17. current — of water
  18. drill — army training
  19. cell — a phone
  20. field — a subject
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. field — farmland
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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