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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. pass — a permit
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. mine — for digging
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. tear — from crying
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. sharp — clever
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. kid — child
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. snap — to click
  18. kid — to tease
  19. pit — in a race
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. tear — from crying
  22. pit — a hole
  23. tear — to rip
  24. bark — to shout

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