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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. sharp — clever
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. branch — a division
  7. deal — to handle
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. game — wild animals
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. bark — to shout
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. game — a match
  21. snap — to click
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. season — of the year
  24. deal — an agreement

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