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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bark — to shout
  7. mine — for digging
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. current — electric
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. cell — a phone
  14. sharp — clever
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. current — happening now
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. cell — in biology
  21. rush — hurry
  22. current — of water
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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