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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. club — for golf
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. bark — to shout
  5. club — a group
  6. band — a ring
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. rest — what's left
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. club — for dancing
  16. rest — a break
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. rest — what's left
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. snap — to click
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  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