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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. swing — to play on
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. mark — a grade
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. foot — a measure
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. mine — for digging
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. swing — music
  20. swing — in golf
  21. bark — to shout
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. mark — a trace

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