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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. chair — a leader
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wake — a trail
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. degree — an amount
  13. saw — the tool
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — temperature
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. saw — the tool
  19. lean — to bend
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. lean — thin
  23. bark — to shout
  24. pitcher — a jug

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