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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 120 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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. row — a line
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bat — the animal
  8. mark — a grade
  9. bark — to shout
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. mark — a trace
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. board — a committee
  16. board — to get on
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. lie — to recline
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. row — to paddle

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