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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. ground — crushed
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. court — of law
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. bark — to shout
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. ground — the earth
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. court — of a king
  16. ground — a position
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. court — for sport
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. calf — a young animal

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