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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. lean — to bend
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. lean — thin
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — what's left
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cap — a hat
  13. snap — to click
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. bark — to shout
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. ball — a great time
  20. kick — in football
  21. ball — a dance
  22. rest — a break
  23. cap — of ice
  24. ball — a round shape

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