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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. net — for catching
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. net — in sport
  8. hand — in cards
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bass — low music
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bark — to shout
  14. net — after costs
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bass — the fish
  18. dip — to sink
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. plane — a tool
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. hand — help
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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