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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: wound · shower · snap · charge · field · bark · staff · roll

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. wound — an injury
  4. field — farmland
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. charge — a price
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. field — for sport
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. roll — a list
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bark — to shout
  13. field — a subject
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. charge — electricity
  17. staff — a stick
  18. snap — to click
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — rain
  21. roll — a cake
  22. staff — employees
  23. charge — in control
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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