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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. rash — a series
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. chair — a leader
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. dip — to sink
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. firm — a company
  11. drill — a practice
  12. drill — army training
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. bark — to shout
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. firm — decided
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. firm — steady
  21. drill — the tool
  22. rash — hasty
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. chair — a professorship

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