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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 120 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. cue — a hint
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. snap — to click
  6. stand — to bear
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. pit — a hole
  10. cue — a signal
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. bark — to shout
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. game — wild animals
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. wake — a trail
  19. cue — for pool
  20. pit — in a race
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. patient — a sick person

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