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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 124 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fine · bark · pound · hand · current · cold · mate · snap

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. snap — to click
  3. fine — all right
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. hand — help
  6. hand — in cards
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. pound — a weight
  9. cold — an illness
  10. current — happening now
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. current — electric
  13. cold — not warm
  14. mate — a friend
  15. mate — to breed
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. mate — a partner
  20. current — of water
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. fine — high quality

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