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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — to shout
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. bank — for money
  6. kid — child
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bank — of a river
  10. pop — music
  11. lean — thin
  12. pop — to visit
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. pop — soda
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. lean — to bend
  17. bank — for money
  18. pitcher — a jug

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