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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. mate — a partner
  6. ground — a position
  7. cell — in biology
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bark — to shout
  10. cell — a phone
  11. net — in sport
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. mate — a friend
  15. ground — the earth
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. mate — to breed
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. net — after costs
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. net — for catching
  23. ground — crushed
  24. racket — for tennis

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