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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wound — an injury
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — to wash
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bark — to shout
  11. tear — to rip
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. shower — rain
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. rash — a series
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. tear — from crying
  22. branch — a division
  23. rash — hasty
  24. wound — an injury

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