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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. lean — thin
  12. sharp — clever
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. pit — a hole
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. club — a group
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. lean — to bend
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bark — to shout
  23. pit — in a race
  24. club — for golf

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