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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — to shout
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. suit — in cards
  8. suit — to fit
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. chest — of your body
  11. rock — music
  12. game — a match
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. rock — a stone
  15. game — wild animals
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. chest — a box
  18. suit — clothes

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