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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 124 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 need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. rash — a series
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. rash — hasty
  15. press — a publisher
  16. press — newspapers
  17. bark — to shout
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. branch — a division
  20. drill — army training
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. press — to push
  24. drill — a practice

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