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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. wound — an injury
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. game — a match
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. sharp — clever
  12. bark — to shout
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. game — wild animals
  18. chip — to eat
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. chip — for betting

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