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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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 — of a tree
  3. rash — hasty
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bark — to shout
  6. rash — a series
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. spell — a short time
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. cold — not warm
  12. fine — all right
  13. scale — size or range
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. snap — to click
  16. spell — letters
  17. scale — in music
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. spell — magic
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. cold — an illness
  23. fine — high quality
  24. temple — side of the head

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