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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. dip — to sink
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. spell — a short time
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. scale — in music
  8. spell — magic
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. bark — to shout
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. scale — size or range
  16. pound — a weight
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. rash — a series
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. rash — hasty
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. spell — letters

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