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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. tube — the underground
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. lean — thin
  8. bark — to shout
  9. land — to come down
  10. bore — to tire
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. row — to paddle
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. land — ground
  17. bore — to drill
  18. land — a country
  19. lean — to bend
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. row — a line
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. tube — a container
  24. trunk — of a tree

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