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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 124 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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. pop — soda
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. dip — to sink
  5. capital — a city
  6. file — a document
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. file — a tool
  9. board — a committee
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. capital — money
  15. bark — to shout
  16. board — to get on
  17. file — a line of people
  18. hand — in cards
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. snap — to click
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. pop — to visit
  23. pop — music
  24. hand — help

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