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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. rush — hurry
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. plane — a tool
  7. bore — to drill
  8. bore — to tire
  9. squash — the sport
  10. squash — to crush
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. game — a match
  16. game — wild animals
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. rush — to hurry

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