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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. bark — to shout
  3. spell — magic
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. drill — the tool
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. spell — letters
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. mug — a face
  11. mug — a cup
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. row — a line
  14. spell — a short time
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. snap — to click
  17. drill — a practice
  18. tube — the underground
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. row — to paddle
  21. mug — to rob
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. tube — a container

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