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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. swing — to play on
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. branch — a division
  7. swing — in golf
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. snap — to click
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. deal — to handle
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. bark — to shout
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. shower — to wash
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. swing — music

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