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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. bark — to shout
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. cue — a signal
  7. wax — to grow
  8. cue — a hint
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. cap — of ice
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. cap — a hat
  13. cap — a lid
  14. drill — the tool
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. cue — for pool
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. pitch — completely
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — army training
  24. fork — in a road

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