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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. bat — the animal
  4. spell — magic
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. snap — to click
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. face — part of the head
  11. face — to point toward
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. spell — letters
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. face — to confront
  18. spell — a short time
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. sharp — clever
  24. bat — for baseball

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