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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: snap · sharp · drill · rule · bark · chest · hand · ground

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — clever
  3. rule — government
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. drill — army training
  8. hand — in cards
  9. ground — a position
  10. chest — a box
  11. drill — the tool
  12. ground — crushed
  13. drill — a practice
  14. chest — of your body
  15. hand — help
  16. ground — the earth
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. snap — to click
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. bark — to shout
  21. chest — of your body
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. rule — a law
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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