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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. bark — to shout
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. band — a music group
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. kid — to tease
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. kid — child
  13. pop — soda
  14. band — a ring
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. pop — to visit
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. pop — music
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. wind — moving air
  22. can — to be able to
  23. can — a tin
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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