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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 120 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: chest · snap · wave · scale · fork · wind · bark · mouse

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. fork — in a road
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bark — to shout
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. scale — in music
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. wind — moving air
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. chest — a box
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. scale — size or range
  24. wind — moving air

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