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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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. bark — a dog's sound
  3. last — final
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. scale — in music
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. last — to go on
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. last — finally
  10. bark — to shout
  11. snap — to click
  12. race — the arms race
  13. current — electric
  14. current — of water
  15. scale — size or range
  16. current — happening now
  17. deal — to handle
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. rash — a series
  21. race — humankind
  22. race — a contest
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. rash — hasty

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