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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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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: face · clip · rush · bark · pass · pitcher · squash · row

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. face — to point toward
  4. row — to paddle
  5. rush — hurry
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. clip — for paper
  9. face — part of the head
  10. squash — to crush
  11. bark — to shout
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. pass — a permit
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. clip — a video
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. squash — the sport
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. face — to confront
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. row — a line
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. clip — to cut

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