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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 don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. field — a subject
  5. current — electric
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. mate — a partner
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. current — happening now
  14. mate — a friend
  15. bark — to shout
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. field — farmland
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. current — of water
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. mate — to breed
  24. field — for sport

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