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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. bark — to shout
  3. cold — not warm
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. stand — to bear
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. branch — a division
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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