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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. bark — to shout
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. drill — army training
  7. lean — thin
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. tear — from crying
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. lean — to bend
  13. band — a ring
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. rush — hurry
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. band — a music group
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. drill — a practice
  22. tear — from crying
  23. chair — a leader
  24. tear — to rip

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