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

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. land — ground
  3. bark — to shout
  4. row — a line
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. wound — an injury
  9. key — the most important part
  10. wound — an injury
  11. row — to paddle
  12. land — to come down
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. last — final
  16. last — finally
  17. key — for a lock
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. key — in music
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. last — to go on
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. land — a country
  24. row — a quarrel

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