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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. wound — an injury
  3. cue — a hint
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. cue — for pool
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. band — a music group
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. wound — an injury
  15. cue — a signal
  16. drill — the tool
  17. bark — to shout
  18. dip — to sink
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. band — a ring
  21. saw — the tool
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — army training
  24. saw — the tool

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