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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. court — of law
  4. bark — to shout
  5. drill — a practice
  6. drill — the tool
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. drill — army training
  10. court — of a king
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. field — for sport
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. field — a subject
  15. court — for sport
  16. kick — in football
  17. field — farmland
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. ball — a great time
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. ball — a dance

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