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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: mark · club · snap · rash · bark · swing · roll · rule

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. roll — a cake
  3. club — for golf
  4. rule — a law
  5. mark — a grade
  6. club — a group
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. rule — government
  9. rash — hasty
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. club — for dancing
  13. roll — a list
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. swing — in golf
  17. swing — music
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. rash — a series
  21. mark — a trace
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. swing — to play on

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