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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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 — to shout
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. pit — a hole
  5. lie — to recline
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — rain
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. shower — to wash
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. snap — to click
  16. pit — in a race
  17. court — of a king
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. court — for sport
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. branch — a division
  24. court — of law

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