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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. tube — a container
  3. tube — the underground
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. rule — government
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. branch — a division
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. wind — moving air
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. wind — moving air
  21. rule — a law
  22. perch — the fish
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. perch — for a bird

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