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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  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 speak sharply
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. net — in sport
  4. cue — for pool
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. sharp — clever
  9. wound — an injury
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. net — after costs
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. wound — an injury
  14. snap — to click
  15. fork — in a road
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. cue — a signal
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. cue — a hint
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — to shout
  23. net — for catching
  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