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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. spell — a short time
  4. bark — to shout
  5. club — for dancing
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. spell — magic
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. row — a line
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. sharp — clever
  16. club — for golf
  17. row — to paddle
  18. mate — a partner
  19. mate — to breed
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. mate — a friend
  22. club — a group
  23. spell — letters
  24. straw — a straw man

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