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

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. current — happening now
  3. row — to paddle
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. row — a line
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. current — of water
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. dip — to sink
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. current — electric
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. bark — to shout
  18. game — wild animals

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