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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. craft — a skill
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. root — the cause
  6. cold — an illness
  7. clip — to cut
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. row — to paddle
  10. rock — music
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. rock — a stone
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. craft — boats
  16. root — of a word
  17. clip — a video
  18. root — of a plant
  19. row — a line
  20. cold — not warm
  21. hand — in cards
  22. clip — for paper
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. hand — help

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