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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. file — a line of people
  3. capital — money
  4. file — a document
  5. mug — a cup
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. scale — in music
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. mug — a face
  11. snap — to click
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. roll — a cake
  14. file — a tool
  15. mug — to rob
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — to drop
  18. scale — size or range
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. roll — a list
  21. fall — the season
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. bark — to shout

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