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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. hand — in cards
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. hand — help
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. branch — a division
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. pitch — completely
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. bark — to shout
  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