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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. snap — to click
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. mine — for digging
  6. lie — to recline
  7. file — a document
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. file — a line of people
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. bark — to shout
  21. file — a tool
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. sharp — clever

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