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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. sharp — clever
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. board — a committee
  7. rest — what's left
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. rest — what's left
  11. drill — a practice
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. board — to get on
  16. bark — to shout
  17. rest — a break
  18. hand — help
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. drill — the tool
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. drill — army training

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