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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. dip — to sink
  3. fork — in a road
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. snap — to click
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wound — an injury
  15. last — finally
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. bark — to shout
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. last — to go on
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. last — final
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. dip — to dunk

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