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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. current — of water
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. club — for dancing
  5. field — for sport
  6. club — for golf
  7. cue — a signal
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bark — to shout
  11. club — a group
  12. field — farmland
  13. face — to confront
  14. cue — a hint
  15. field — a subject
  16. drill — the tool
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. face — part of the head
  19. face — to point toward
  20. current — electric
  21. drill — a practice
  22. cue — for pool
  23. current — happening now
  24. drill — army training

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