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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 116 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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. can — a tin
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. cell — a phone
  7. bark — to shout
  8. ball — a great time
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chair — a leader
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. can — to be able to
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. mine — for digging
  15. can — a tin
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. cell — in biology
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. snap — to click

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