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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. snap — to click
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. rash — hasty
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bulb — for light
  12. wake — a trail
  13. pit — a hole
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. cell — in biology
  17. rash — a series
  18. cell — a phone
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. pit — in a race
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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