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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. pit — in a race
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wound — an injury
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. pit — a hole
  15. snap — to click
  16. game — wild animals
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. game — a match
  19. plane — a tool
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bark — to shout
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wind — moving air

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