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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: lie · bark · roll · press · snap · coach · wound · kid

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. wound — an injury
  5. roll — a cake
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. kid — to tease
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. roll — a list
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. lie — to recline
  13. press — to push
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. bark — to shout
  16. snap — to click
  17. kid — child
  18. wound — an injury
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. press — newspapers
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. press — a publisher

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