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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. wind — moving air
  4. face — to point toward
  5. face — part of the head
  6. snap — to click
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. face — to confront
  15. court — for sport
  16. sharp — clever
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. rash — hasty
  20. rash — a series
  21. court — of a king
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. wind — moving air
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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