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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. ground — a position
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. saw — the tool
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. swing — in golf
  10. snap — to click
  11. swing — to play on
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. file — a document
  15. ground — the earth
  16. file — a line of people
  17. bark — to shout
  18. swing — music
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. saw — the tool
  21. file — a tool
  22. ground — crushed
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. chair — a leader

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