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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: bark · pitcher · saw · snap · coach · net · wound · hand

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. hand — in cards
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. saw — the tool
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. net — for catching
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. net — after costs
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. saw — the tool
  18. wound — an injury
  19. snap — to click
  20. wound — an injury
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. bark — to shout
  23. net — in sport
  24. pitcher — a jug

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