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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  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. row — a quarrel
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. band — a ring
  4. row — a line
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — to tease
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. band — a music group
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. rush — hurry
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. bark — to shout
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. nail — for a hammer
  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