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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 116 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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. can — a tin
  3. wind — moving air
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. can — a tin
  6. bark — to shout
  7. staff — employees
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. staff — a stick
  11. court — of a king
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. court — of law
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. snap — to click
  16. wind — moving air
  17. can — to be able to
  18. kick — in football
  19. bass — low music
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. bass — the fish
  22. court — for sport
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bass — the instrument

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