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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. wound — an injury
  3. craft — a skill
  4. wound — an injury
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. bark — to shout
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. last — final
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. rash — a series
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. sharp — clever
  17. snap — to click
  18. rash — hasty
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. last — finally
  21. craft — boats
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. last — to go on

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