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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: squash · mug · saw · pitcher · field · sharp · foot · bark

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. mug — to rob
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. saw — the tool
  6. squash — the sport
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. field — farmland
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. foot — a measure
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. saw — the tool
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. mug — a cup
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. field — for sport
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. field — a subject
  22. sharp — clever
  23. squash — to crush
  24. bark — to shout

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