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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. chair — a leader
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. drill — army training
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — the sport
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. bark — to shout
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. row — a line
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. squash — to crush
  19. row — to paddle
  20. toast — bread
  21. spring — of water
  22. drill — a practice
  23. spring — the season
  24. spring — a coil

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