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

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. scale — size or range
  4. board — a committee
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. swing — to play on
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. board — to get on
  14. swing — music
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. bark — to shout
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. scale — in music
  21. chair — a leader
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. swing — in golf
  24. nail — for a hammer

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