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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. cap — of ice
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. shower — rain
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. sharp — clever
  8. tube — the underground
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. tube — a container
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. shower — to wash
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. cap — a lid
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. cap — a hat
  21. stand — to bear
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. pound — a weight
  24. bark — to shout

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