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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. bark — to shout
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. charge — in control
  8. charge — electricity
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. rush — hurry
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. tube — a container
  15. file — a document
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. file — a tool
  18. pound — a weight
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. charge — a price
  22. file — a line of people
  23. plane — a tool
  24. tube — the underground

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