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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. fall — to drop
  5. game — a match
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bark — to shout
  8. deal — to handle
  9. wind — moving air
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. wind — moving air
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. game — wild animals
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — the season
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. bark — of a tree

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