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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 is an ace ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. board — to get on
  5. board — a committee
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bore — to tire
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. saw — the tool
  14. cell — a phone
  15. clip — for paper
  16. chair — a leader
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bore — to drill
  19. cell — in biology
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. clip — a video
  24. saw — the tool

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