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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to click
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. rest — what's left
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. key — in music
  12. rest — what's left
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. bat — the animal
  15. pound — a weight
  16. key — for a lock
  17. content — the amount
  18. bark — to shout
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. content — happy
  23. key — the most important part
  24. bat — in an idiom

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