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

Word bank: snap · bark · content · leaves · swing · pound · racket · face

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. content — the amount
  4. swing — music
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. content — happy
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. bark — to shout
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. pound — a weight
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. swing — in golf
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. face — part of the head
  19. swing — to play on
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. face — to confront
  24. face — to point toward

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