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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 · foot · squash · cell · pit · snap · cold · file

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. foot — a measure
  3. bark — to shout
  4. cell — a phone
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. file — a tool
  7. cold — not warm
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. snap — to click
  11. pit — in a race
  12. file — a line of people
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. cell — in biology
  16. squash — the sport
  17. cold — an illness
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. squash — to crush
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. file — a document
  24. pit — a hole

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