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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. bark — to shout
  3. rash — a series
  4. bat — the animal
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. row — a line
  9. mug — a cup
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. row — to paddle
  13. game — wild animals
  14. mug — a face
  15. game — a match
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. rash — hasty
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. snap — to click
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. wave — of the sea

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