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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: prune · wave · club · chair · drill · wound · pitcher · bark

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. club — a group
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. bark — to shout
  9. chair — a leader
  10. club — for golf
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. drill — army training
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. drill — the tool
  23. prune — to trim
  24. drill — a practice

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