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

Word bank: kid · stick · bark · deal · mate · wave · rock · pitcher

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. deal — to handle
  7. mate — a friend
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. bark — to shout
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. kid — child
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. mate — a partner
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. rock — a stone
  20. rock — music
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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