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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. bark — to shout
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. current — electric
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. present — the time now
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. current — of water
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. game — a match
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. game — wild animals
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. cold — not warm
  19. mark — a grade
  20. present — there
  21. present — a gift
  22. snap — to click
  23. mark — a trace
  24. cold — an illness

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