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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 120 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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. chip — for betting
  4. file — a tool
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. ground — the earth
  7. wind — moving air
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. chip — to eat
  10. file — a line of people
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. ground — crushed
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. rush — hurry
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bark — to shout
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bear — the animal
  21. ground — a position
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. file — a document

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