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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. court — of a king
  3. squash — the sport
  4. court — for sport
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. squash — to crush
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. tube — a container
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. drill — a practice
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. drill — the tool
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. court — of law
  22. bark — to shout
  23. tube — the underground
  24. drill — army training

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