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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 116 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. cap — a hat
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. fall — the season
  6. cap — of ice
  7. swing — in golf
  8. swing — to play on
  9. bark — to shout
  10. fall — to drop
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bore — to tire
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. cap — a lid
  15. fine — all right
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. fine — high quality
  18. bore — to drill
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. fall — to drop
  21. swing — music
  22. sharp — clever
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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