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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. drill — army training
  4. ground — a position
  5. current — of water
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. ground — crushed
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. snap — to click
  12. mark — a trace
  13. drill — a practice
  14. drill — the tool
  15. cold — not warm
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. mark — a grade
  18. current — happening now
  19. current — electric
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. ground — the earth
  24. cold — an illness

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