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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. spell — a short time
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. bark — to shout
  6. snap — to click
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. fine — high quality
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. wound — an injury
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. fine — all right
  14. spell — letters
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. spell — magic
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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