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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. rash — hasty
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. face — to point toward
  6. key — the most important part
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. key — for a lock
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — child
  12. tube — a container
  13. key — in music
  14. rash — a series
  15. bark — to shout
  16. snap — to click
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — part of the head
  24. kid — to tease

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