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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. pop — to visit
  5. stock — goods
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. pit — a hole
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. pop — music
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. pit — in a race
  13. file — a document
  14. pop — soda
  15. game — wild animals
  16. file — a line of people
  17. game — a match
  18. file — a tool
  19. bark — to shout
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. stock — shares
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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