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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to click
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. tube — the underground
  9. tube — a container
  10. bark — to shout
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. bass — the fish
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. bass — low music
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. mark — a trace
  18. lean — thin
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — not warm
  22. mark — a grade
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. mark — to pay attention

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