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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. That must've been a ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. shower — rain
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. content — happy
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. shower — to wash
  14. rush — hurry
  15. bark — to shout
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. lean — thin
  18. wake — a trail
  19. lean — to bend
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. content — the amount
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. plane — a 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