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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. cap — a lid
  4. cue — a signal
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. rest — what's left
  8. mark — a trace
  9. chest — of your body
  10. game — a match
  11. cue — a hint
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. snap — to click
  14. rest — what's left
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. rest — a break
  17. cap — a hat
  18. cap — of ice
  19. bark — to shout
  20. game — wild animals
  21. chest — a box
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. chest — of your body
  24. cue — for pool

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