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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. spell — letters
  3. bear — the animal
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. snap — to click
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. kid — to tease
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. kid — child
  14. game — wild animals
  15. mug — a face
  16. spell — magic
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. bear — the animal
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. game — a match
  22. bark — to shout
  23. mug — a cup
  24. spell — a short time

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