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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. vault — a safe
  3. cold — not warm
  4. row — to paddle
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. kick — in football
  7. row — a line
  8. rash — a series
  9. rock — music
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. cold — an illness
  13. rash — hasty
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. rock — a stone
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bark — to shout
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. racket — for tennis

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