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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. object — an aim
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. stock — goods
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. fall — the season
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. object — a thing
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. scale — in music
  15. scale — size or range
  16. object — to protest
  17. bat — the animal
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. stock — shares
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bark — to shout

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