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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  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. mug — to rob
  2. rash — a series
  3. mug — a cup
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wax — to grow
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. game — a match
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. bark — to shout
  20. mug — a face
  21. game — wild animals
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. rash — hasty
  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