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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. lean — thin
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bat — the animal
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. board — to get on
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. hand — help
  16. board — a committee
  17. row — to paddle
  18. wake — a trail
  19. plane — a tool
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. hand — in cards
  23. lean — to bend
  24. row — a line

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