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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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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: bark · cell · temple · cue · march · chest · board · snap

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. march — the month
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bark — to shout
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. cue — for pool
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. march — music
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in biology
  12. march — the month
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. board — a committee
  15. chest — a box
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. cue — a signal
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. board — to get on
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. cue — a hint
  24. board — a flat piece

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